Love is Blind
by voldie's lover
Summary: Told in Fred's POV. He develops a growing attraction for his own twin, which hurls him into despair and confusion, and self-loathing. But all they need is each other for an eternity. Rated M for twincest, just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**My first ever fanfic. I thought of writing a FredxGeorge romance with some angsty stuff, so, here you go.**

**English is not my first language so please forgive me for the mistakes bound to be there in my fic. Please feel free to point them out. :)**

**Disclaimer: I own Harry Potter...in my dreams.**

* * *

Fred and George had so much in common. They shared the same birthday, same parents, same blood, same looks (Well, Fred had to admit that George was a bit leaner than him, and had curvier lips than him), same interests; hell, they even shared the same bed even though they had separate beds. He would creep up to George's bed at night and then slink back to his own bed at the crack of dawn before other's would be up, because anyone would think they were nuts and laugh at them if they'd find that they cannot stay away from each other even while they're asleep.

But the fact was that they simply couldn't. They had grown so accustomed to cuddling up and requiring each others' warmth, to listen to the other's quiet breathing and steady heartbeat, which was a sweet lullaby to them, that they simply couldn't sleep without it. It felt like sleeping on a hard floor in a barren, empty, cold place, if they did not have each other by their side.

Besides, George always had nightmares of Fred's death, how he would feel broken and alone and empty without him, how it felt as though half his soul was ripped off from him, and he would cry like a small child, hugging him desperately and sobbing into his neck, and Fred would gently stroke his twin's hair and assure him that he is alive and breathing, and right beside him.

Even though they had much in common, there were things different between them which others never noticed. Fred was the assertive one between them, always the one to initiate things, to act rash, while George was the one who thought things through, contemplated, and sometimes knocked some sense into Fred when he gets a bit out of hand. Fred came up with plans and ideas, while George supported and cheered and stood by him.

When they were young, they were scrawny, pale, freckled, ginger haired boys, identical to the last freckle, grinning simultaneously at something or completing each others' thoughts in a rapid fire, always curious to find how others would react if they might irritate them. They always found their reactions funny.

Nothing made them laugh and enjoy more than bringing out a startled jump and a loud yelp from dad when they tickled his ear with a quill while he dozed off on the rocking chair, or hiding behind a wall stretching out their legs waiting for the moment when Percy would come marching with his nose high in the air, only to trip on their outstretched legs and smash that nose on the floor, or to frighten their little brother Ron by rolling up their eyelids so it seemed like they had their eyes gouged out and walk towards him with their hands outstretched and guffaw creepily like zombies, or pull little Ginny's ponytail which made her whimper and whine "Mommy!"

Best person to irritate was their mum. They would sneak up into the kitchen, while she'd be busy hurling platters to their racks or ordering potatoes to peel themselves, and steal sausages behind her back, just to make her notice their doing and shriek in anger. They would laugh in her face while she scolded them, and complete each others' speech, sounding as if they were one soul in two bodies. "Oh mum,"

"Have you seen,"

"A tomato,"

"If not,"

"Please look in the mirror,"

"Right now!"

And before she could hex them, they would bolt, with peals of laughter.

It was pure bliss when they were together. They were literally one soul in two bodies. Each's thoughts were the facsimile of the other just like their appearance. Everything in the world seemed to be alright when they were together. They knew just what to do to make each other happy, to make each other feel complete. Time seemed to fly when they were together, each moment spent doing one playful prank after another, laughter followed by more cheery laughter. Time seemed to dissolve when they sat under the tree, catching their breath after laughing hard, only to look at each other's faces and burst out laughing again.

They were not bothered by having to share everything with each other. They in fact loved it. It closed the distance between them even more.

Each cannot remember having spent a moment without the other. They ate, slept, talked, studied, pulled off pranks, laughed together.

They shared their dreams together, building castles in the air while dreamily staring off into the inky black night sky scattered with twinkling stars, sitting on their bed, nestled contentedly in each other's arms, each breathing in the other's sweet scent and comforted by the other's warmth.

"Georgie...maybe we could open a joke shop one day...people seem to be in horrible need of a few laughs these miserable days.."

"Yeah...something must take their minds off that evil git...else everyone might go bonkers and end up turning retarded like him..."

"And we'd be the only one's remaining sane..."

"Yeah...how can anyone get as lucky as us...?"

"You're lucky because you have me..."

"You're a pain in the ass ..." George grinned, earning a soft jab on his ribs from his twin lying entwined in his arms.

They were lost in their own world when they would be scribbling notes and discussing plans to make fake wands and trick sweets, when they would try enchanting holly and birch twigs which would explode on their faces, covering their faces in soot, and then laugh and wipe each others' faces. Time seemed to be enchanted instead of the twigs. Their minds working together, thinking up bizarre and hilarious ideas, and laughing their heads off imagining them happen, clinging on to each other as they laughed.

They would wander off into the deep woods behind their house, for a bit of alone-time, to dream about the things they would do in future. Fred would sit under the shady oak tree, while George would rest his head on his lap, staring up at the clear blue summer sky dappled with thick leaves on branches twisting and coiling around one another. Time seemed to be ethereal, with them whispering softly about how they would sell their tricks and earn some money, building more castles in the air.

"Georgie...maybe we could buy a house one day with all those money..."

"Mhm...Perched on a hilltop..."

"Overlooking a vast meadow..."

"Surrounded by violet hills..."

"Far away from everyone..."

"We'd enchant the trees around to sing softly..."

"And also the bed to kick you out of it in the morning..." Fred grinned, and George reached out to yank his twin's ginger hair playfully. Fred was pulled down, his face inches away from his twin...his beautiful, angelic twin. But he did not feel strange, not at all. He only had innocent brotherly love for his twin back then, nothing more.

Somewhere along the way, though Fred could never understand when or where or how for the life of him, they realized that all they need is each other. They did not need anyone else to satisfy them, to make them happy. Each was complete with the other.

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**Please R&R!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Warning: May contain cheesy stuff and corny dialogues. :D**

* * *

They were the most excited when the Triwizard Tournament was announced, but their excitement was short-lived when Dumbledore announced that they must be seventeen or above to participate.

"Old coot!" Fred muttered.

That night, Fred, as usual, tiptoed to his twin's bed which was just next to his, after making sure Lee was snoring, and moved the curtains. George smiled at him warmly and shifted to make him space. He clambered on to the bed noiselessly, sidled closer to his twin, and cast a silencing charm, as every day, to muffle their soft chatter, and drew the curtains close.

"Georgie, like I said earlier, I'm not going to sit around and mope while the big baddies enter their names for the Tournament..." Fred began at once.

"What do you reckon we do?"

"Dunno...why don't you let your unused, rusty brain work this time, Georgie..."

George lifted up his knee and mock-kicked him in his balls, but, startlingly, it produced some kind of weird sensation in Fred. But he quickly tried to suppress it, whatever it was.

"Hmm...there's still seven more months to go before we turn seventeen...wish we'd turn seventeen right now..." George said, blissfully unaware of the fact that his twin was slightly flustered by his earlier action. "Freddie, I guess Ageing Potion might be a tad too obvious to others..."

Fred merely grunted in response. He was desperately trying to quell the strange way his body was reacting. He suddenly felt awkward at the way his twin's face was inches away from his, how his arms were draped around his shoulders, how his limbs were entwined with his. He felt panicky.

"Fred..." George whispered, trying to get him talk. But that only produced another fresh wave of weird sensation at the way his name sounded from his twin, the way his sweet, warm breath brushed his face. What in Merlin's undergarments was wrong with him? He fucking slept in his twin's arms every damn night.

"Uhm, I feel sleepy. Let's talk about it tomorrow, okay..." Fred managed to mumble, before disentangling his arms and limbs from his twin and turning his back to George abruptly and staring at the curtain which was grey in the darkness.

But George wasn't the one to be fooled. He was the other half of his soul. "Hey...how come you're sleepy so early? I haven't yet used my rusty brains, Freddie...don't you wanna hear my brilliant ideas?" he whispered fondly, and snaked his arms under his and hugged him from behind, spooning him.

Fred was going insane. He felt the sudden urge to turn and straddle his twin and smash his lips against his and grind his hips repeatedly against his. NO! What utter bollocks was he thinking? Was he fucking mental? He was...no...oh no...he was getting turned on by his twin, his mirror image, his own blood. His hands were suddenly trembling, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

George seemed to sense his anxiety, but that only made him cuddle closer to comfort him, only that it was having the opposite effect on Fred. "Freddie...what's wrong...?" he whispered into his ear, worry evident in his tone.

"N-nothing...just leave me, okay...I wanna sleep..." he said in a small voice_. Oh Merlin, George, move those lips of yours away from my ear._

"Fred...drop your act, okay...you don't have to pull pranks on _me_...playing this I'm-gonna-die-right-now is getting a bit old, you don't have to tease me about my nightmares every inapt moment...", and he shook Fred impatiently, making his body rub against him, and the result that had on him made his mind scream _OH GEORGE I WANNA FUCK YOU SENSELESS._

"JUST FUCKING LEAVE ME GEORGE!" he roared, and grabbed his twin's hands and threw them away from his chest.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" George sounded hurt and angry.

"Why don't you just shut up for fuck's sake?!"

"This is just too much, Fred! Why the hell are you acting so pre-menstrual?!"

Fred's reply to this was shooting up from the bed and hastily striding to his own bed, leaving George alone.

It was the first time they slept away from each other. Hell, it felt like sleeping in a barren, arctic land. The absence of George's sweet breath and protective arms around him and warmth of his body pressed close to him literally killed him. His mind inadvertently drifted off to the image of George leaning against a wall, smirking; the way his straight ginger hair fell across his forehead, reaching up to the base of his neck, his neck, that long, graceful, soft neck, a black mark the only blemish on his smooth, fair neck, his pink, supple lips, its soft curve, so much perfect than his own, the mischievous glint in his bright blue, wide, beautiful eyes, the freckles sprinkled on his long nose and thin face, he wished if he could run the tip of his tongue on each one of those freckles...

_What the hell is wrong with me? He is my twin!_ Oh the way he looks after a bath, long, ginger hair dripping, towel wrapped low around his thin waist, his fair, creamy, smooth chest, the muscles rippling on his back, his broad shoulders...how many times did he unknowingly gaze at him, mesmerized by his mirror image.

_ NO NO NO!_

Oh but the way he whispers his name, if only he'd whisper it throwing back his head and wanting him inside him.

Fred let out a low moan, desire clouding his rationality. He slipped his hand inside his boxers and rubbed it along his length, writhing up and down, biting his lip to suppress his moans. He threw his head back as he neared his climax, imagining his twin naked and moaning under him, and shakily uttered his twin's name as he came.

* * *

The next day, he avoided eye-contact with his twin, but put on the facade of joking and acting cheerful. George appeared sleep-deprived, and so did Fred himself. His twin approached him tentatively and asked him what the matter was with him last night, his face showing worry and concern. Fred simply waved it off with a witty joke and a cheery laugh, and asked him to bother no more about it, it was just one of his "girly outbursts", his frustration at not being able to come up with a foolproof plan to enter their names for the tournament.

He, George and Lee fooled around as usual, though George secretly threw him concerned looks, and Fred would look away the instant their eyes met.

Fred tried to occupy his mind on other topics as much as possible, to joke more than usual. He immersed himself in finding out ways to concoct an Ageing Potion which could make them pass through the goblet without detection of cheating. He would limit talking with his twin, the one who drove him crazy these days every time he looked at him, the object of his wicked desire, who sat only inches away shooting him worried glances, while he pretended to pore over the volumes of potion books intently. Each time George would touch him lightly on his shoulder, or try to hold his hand innocently, like they used to before he became so perverted, shivers ran through his body.

After that night, he refused to sleep alongside George. George appeared hurt and confused at his behaviour. He said in a broken voice, "Freddie...you do know that I can't sleep without you by my side...why are you doing this to me? Did I hurt you somehow?" A true angel he seemed while he asked this, so innocent and pure...unlike him; a demon, a twisted, sick person who wanted to ravish his own twin. Fred's heart broke into a million pieces looking at his twin's sad, beautiful face.

During the day, he was a clown; fooling around, making everyone laugh, laughing at everyone...

At night, he was a devil, lying alone and awake on his bed after casting silencing charm, wanking off, knowing that the one about whom he was fantasizing lied just a few feet away from him, awake and hurt, crying silently over him.

Fred pulled the curtains of his bed close that night, when someone suddenly grabbed his hand which was still clutching the fabric of curtain, and the person pulled open the curtain. It was George, with a pained and tired expression on his face. Fred realized with a pang that he had dark circles under his eyes; his eyes had a haggard look. It was a few days that he looked his twin in the eyes.

"Georgie...", his voice came out weaker than he intended. He glanced around their dorm room to find that Lee was sprawled awkwardly on his bed, his head resting on History of Magic book and drooling over it, already in deep sleep.

George kept looking at him, his gaze steady and his expression serious, still gripping his wrist tight. It felt like being under a laser scan. He then grimaced a bit, and then slowly sank down on his bed.

"Fred, what's this all about...you hardly give me a glance these days..." his voice was quiet and so pained, it broke Fred's heart, but he did not show it in his face. He arranged his expression to a carefree, jovial attitude. "What? Are you stupid? I ogle at you all through the day like you are my lover or something, really!" Fred's throat constricted when he thought of the double meaning of his statement.

To his shock, George seemed to be more infuriated by his reply. He clenched and unclenched his jaws, and gripped his wrist tighter, his blue eyes burning into his own blue of the same shade. Fred realized with slight fear that it was the first time his twin looked so pissed. He whipped out his wand, and for a fleeting moment, Fred thought he might hex him, but he simply flicked off the lights and pulled the curtain close, and cast a silencing charm. Now he couldn't make out his twin's expression in the very dim, grey light of the moon managing to enter inside through the curtain. He could just make out the way his smooth, straight hair shone silver ever so slightly in the dim light.

"Freddie...why are you acting this way?", his voice softened, and dropped into a whisper, "Its killing me...Please, Fred, tell me what's bothering you...how can you keep anything from me?" he loosened his grip on his wrist, and slowly laced his fingers with Fred's, the gesture alone spreading warmth in his palm, which travelled all the way up his arm and reached his cheeks, reddening them. He thanked the gods he did not believe in for the darkness.

"Acting what way? I'm perfectly alright, Georgie...didn't you see how I hexed the crap out of that stupid prat Malfoy today, or...or...slipped engorgioed spider in Alicia's cauldron..I'm in top-notch form, really, Georgie...you're being pointlessly paranoid, so shut it..." he struggled to keep his voice steady and cheerful throughout his rambling.

"Then why are you ignoring me so cruelly? Why don't you sleep beside me? I feel like ending my life without you by my side..." his voice was thick with emotion, and Fred felt as though a huge boulder was placed on his chest...it felt so heavy, it became so difficult to breathe.

Suddenly, George lit his wand, and their whole little enclosure was illuminated. George was looking intently at his face, his angelic face framed with his fiery red hair. "Wanted to see your expression..." George said quietly.

Fred quickly looked away, feigning exasperation, "You're a git, Georgie..." he mumbled.

His twin released his hand and cupped his face, "Look at me, Fred..." he whispered. His breath hitched, and his heart steadily picked up its pace. _This is the reason why I ignore you, you git._ He did not, could not, look at his face. "Freddie...please...look at me..." he tried to turn his face forcefully towards him.

Fred mustered up his courage, and looked at his twin's face.

It wore a pained and worried look.

Looking at his beautiful face, his intense, blue eyes; Fred felt scared, and ashamed of himself. He loved his Georgie, truly, madly, deeply; he could never stand to lose him, could never hurt him. If he'd find out how Fred thought of him, how badly he wanted to...devour him, he would be hurt beyond belief, he might slap him hard across his face, he might yell and scream and cry hard, and then disown him. He did not care if anyone else disowned him, but he'd die if his Georgie left him. He loved his twin too much to lose him.

His soul's other half seemed to sense his worry, and he caressed his face delicately to comfort him. _Oh stop comforting me you idiot! This is what makes me a demon!_ "Freddie...tell me what's worrying you...please...I can't stand to see you so lost and confused..."

"It-its nothing...really...", his voice was a pathetic whisper, barely audible.

George sidled closer to him, and stroked his face lovingly, brushing away his hair from his forehead. Fred felt lightheaded. His heart was thumping furiously. His face was so close to his now, he longed to close the small distance between them and crush his lips against his, wanted to fist his hands in his smooth ginger hair. "Freddie...what is it, baby?" he asked tenderly.

"I...I just...", he struggled to breathe properly. He looked in his twin's concerned eyes, and once again felt scared that he might lose him forever, "Will you...will you ever leave me and go away, Georgie? Will you ever abandon me? Will I...will I lose you, my Georgie? I...I won't..can't stand if you'd go far away from me..." words tumbled out from his quivering lips in a pitiful whisper.

George looked scared and worried sick. His face was drained of colour. He cupped his face and said, "Freddie...why are you speaking this way? Are you mad? How can I abandon you? Have you been having nightmares like me?"

"N-no...I just...I sometimes think..." words failed him. How could he ever confess the ugly truth?

George stroked his hair, and whispered, "Freddie...I'll never leave you, never...you're my soul...I'll die without you..."

Tears welled up in Fred's eyes. "Are-are you scared of entering our names for the tournament? Are you scared that if we'd get selected one of us will die...?" George asked, desperately trying to find out the reason for his anxiety.

Fred said nothing. He snaked his arms under his twin's and pulled him close roughly, their bodies slamming hard, and hugged him frantically, burying his face in his soft hair, greedily breathing in his sweet scent he so missed these days. This time, he was the one who cried like a baby, while his twin held him close and caressed his back soothingly.

Fred woke up the next morning in his twin's warm embrace. His lips tugged up a bit in a small smile, realizing that it was the first time George left his bed and slept in his bed. It was always the other way round, though Fred didn't know why, but that was their norm. He pulled himself from his twin and opened the curtains. The dorm room was filled with a dark blue hue of the light just before dawn. He got up from the bed and looked at his twin, peacefully asleep. He smiled a bit thinking how innocent his twin looked while he slept, unlike how he was when he was awake, always smirking and laughing and eyes sparkling mischievously, although he missed that sparkle these days because of him.

He would stop hurting his brother from this moment, he vowed to himself as he clambered on his twin's bed and pulled up the duvet, and buried his face in it. What he needed was to spend some time with some girl, to quieten his stupid, raging hormones. He was a complete, utter git to spend each second attached to his twin, like they were Siamese. Did he ever rove his eyes around, look at the world around him? No! He always had his eyes glued to his mirror image, anticipating his reaction to some idea he might propose, or looking at the way he laughed at his joke. He acted like a sick, stupid, crazy boyfriend. He was a dumbass. _Dumbass dumbass you freaking stupid dumbass. _He mentally smacked himself repeatedly.

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**What do you think?**


	3. Chapter 3

While they were on their way to the Great Hall for breakfast, George turned to him and asked, "Are you thinking of not entering our names for the tournament, Fred?" George had mistaken his soppy acts last night for being frightened of entering their names.

Fred had resolved to put on his normal bright and breezy demeanour. He closed his eyes, as if mortally offended, and said, "Call yourself a brother? A twin on top of that? I'm mighty disappointed in you, my double. Our thoughts are no longer in sync. I solemnly warn you that you will to be fired from the post of my side-kick if you resolve not to improve your rotten senses."

"So...you mean you still want to enter our names?" George looked at him with hope in his bright blue eyes.

"Please walk a bit farther from me so people might not be mistaken that a hare-brained person who unfortunately is my lookalike is related to me in any sense."

"Wow! That's my boy with sparkling wit and charming air." George smiled affectionately at him.

He pushed away his immoral thoughts, smothered and stifled it mercilessly each time it would jump up whenever he looked at his twin. He looked his twin in his eyes, and acted the way he used to, he did not swat away his twin's hand whenever he touched him, he slept beside his twin trying hard not to get a boner, and all this proved to be more difficult than defeating Merlin. George seemed to be pleased with his happy-go-lucky, improved behaviour. He seemed relieved that he was once again acting his normal self.

He was determined to kill this stupid sexual attraction he felt for his own beloved twin. He realized with a jolt that he had not felt anything remotely close to attraction or had crush on anyone, or felt aroused, until that fateful night he slept away from George, and experienced the glorious feeling of being blinded with ecstasy for the first time, and that too for his own twin. He was a loser, wasn't he, to not to have at least kissed someone. He was nearly seventeen for Merlin's sake, and all he did until this moment was flit around George like a possessive boyfriend. So he asked Angelina out to Hogsmeade first chance he got. He did not care if it was Angelina or Alicia or Katie or whoever...his only aim was to find some girl and snog her or do her or whatever and vent out his sexual needs and put an end to his discreditable feelings for his twin.

* * *

They were in the History of Magic class, and George was busy whispering animatedly to Lee about aiming a pin-precision-pointer, one of their inventions, on Cedric who sat a few rows ahead of them. Fred and George still held a grudge against him for the defeat of Gryffindor team last year thanks to him. But Fred's eyes were on Angelina, thinking up ways to ask her out, not that he cared for her. Katie seemed to notice him and giggled and whispered something in Angelina's ear, and she turned around to look at him, and appeared to be blushing (though Fred wasn't sure since she was dark-skinned), and turned away quickly to continue chatting with her friends. He took out a parchment, and scribbled '_Meet me after the class near the stairs – Fred._', folded it up into a paper plane, and aimed it at her while Prof. Binns' back was turned to them. It hit her straight on her head. She jerked a bit, and then slowly turned her head to the paper plane lying on the floor beside her. Katie and few other girls were giggling uncontrollably. Angelina turned around and looked at him again, and he gave her a wink and a salacious grin. She looked flustered, bent down and picked it up, slowly opened it, roved her eyes over the parchment, and blushed deeper (if that was even possible). She looked up at him, and smiled and nodded in approval.

He turned around and looked at George, and found that he and Lee had their heads pressed to the desk and were stifling bouts of laughter, shaking nonstop. George looked up at him, and the rest of the world seemed to disappear and it was only George before him, and all he wanted to do was reach down and kiss his lips tenderly, and brush away stray hair from his eyes.

He was broken from his trance when the dulcet voice of his beautiful twin reached his ears. "Freddie...look at Cedric, will you?"

It took him a few seconds to comprehend his twin's words and return to the present. He looked up at Cedric, and found that a small arrow was stuck on his back, which pinned a poster all over his back on which was written in big, bold, shimmering letters:

**FOR HARRY I HAVE AN ITCH**

**BUT HE IS ELUSIVE LIKE THE GOLDEN SNITCH**

**OH HARRY I DITCHED YOU IN QUIDDITCH**

**AND I AGREE THAT I AM A BITCH.**

Fred bit back his laughter, and turned to his twin and said, "Hey, you shouldn't have done this. Harry is our only beacon of hope. We don't want him to see this and die of a heart attack now, do we?"

Later, after the class, Fred paused near the stairs, and George looked up at him questioningly.

"Um...you get going...I'll join you later..." Fred told him.

George's eyebrows shot up, "Why?"

He saw Angelina coming out of the class with her friends. George traced back his line of sight, and a slow smile spread on his face, and he quirked up an eyebrow at him playfully. Fred died on the inside right away. His twin cottoned on and was actually encouraging him. _What did you expect then, you moron! That he'd act like a jealous lovesick fool like you? He's your brother!_

"Alrighty, Freddie! Good luck to you!" He winked at him mischievously and turned back and thundered down the stairs. He stood staring at his twin's retreating back, aware of his heart wrenching painfully.

"Um...Fred?" A light voice called him. He turned around to see Angelina standing near him expectantly, black eyes trained on him inquisitively.

It took him a few seconds to crush his anguish and put on the I-could-care-less-I-am-a-clown air, "Oh, Angelina, I was wondering if you could go out with me. Saturday evening, then? Around six? At The Three Broomsticks?"

She appeared to be stunned at his blunt manner of asking her out. She seemed to be fumbling for words, "Er..um...did you just ask me out?"

"No...I just asked you to belly dance."

She narrowed her eyes at him. He flashed her a boyish grin, and she seemed to blush. "Um...alright then. Saturday it is. See you around..."

He nodded, "Bye Angie..." he said sweetly.

* * *

He and George went to the library after their last class to research on Ageing Potions. Fred tried to act normal and joke at every little thing to the best of his ability. He was afraid that he might burst out crying the moment he stopped joking. He was such a naive, sick mental retard to expect that George would be jealous of the fact that he asked out a girl. He wasn't a bloody brother-fucker like him. He was a normal teenage boy with perfectly sane behaviour.

"Add dragon dung to make him look like a dunce..." George was reading 'Potions to Pester Pesky Prats.'

"Must try that on Percy one day..." Fred muttered while leafing through the huge 'Comprehensive Potions' book. "Pesky Prat...Percy...prefect...all words having annoying connotations starts with 'P'.."

"What about 'A'..." George asked with a sly grin gracing his lips, and a mischievous glint he so loved in his blue eyes. Fred was glad that it was back once again, and he did not want to take that away from his eyes again, though he screamed in agony on the inside that his brother did not care if he would leave him even for a few hours to be with someone else.

"Well, the letter 'A' brings to mind pointless chatter and stupid giggles."

"Oh...then why did you bother to ask her out?"

"Why are you being so nosy? Did _you_ want to ask her out?" Fred asked, expertly hiding a pang of jealousy behind an accusing, teasing tone.

"Nah, I'm not interested in brunettes and dark-skinned girls..." he said airily.

"Oh. Then what type do you like? Big-busted blondes?" _Just avada me George, why don't you? Its better than killing me inch by inch._

George screwed up his face, as if in deep thought. "Um...I guess...I like red-heads..."

"Hmm...want to carry on our family's tradition?" _I'll kill every red-headed girl alive save little Ginny._

"Dunno...that might be it..." he said dismissively.

* * *

Later that night, Fred crept up to his twin's bed, and slipped under the duvet beside him. His twin instinctively reached out and pulled him close in a warm embrace, just like he always did since they were little. His sweet scent instantly filled him. With each passing day, he felt it getting incredibly tougher not to lose his control and start kissing his soft lips with fervour, not to get hard. But he could not sleep alone, and neither could his twin. He pretended to drift off to sleep along with his twin after they talked non-stop about the day's events and their plans, and when he became sure that George's arms and limbs weighed heavier on him as his body slackened in his sleep, and his breathing became slower and heartbeat steadier, he opened his eyes and stared at his twin's moonlit face...peaceful, innocent, beautiful face. He reached out and placed a trembling hand on his smooth cheek, and caressed it softly.

_Oh Georgie...I'm not able to sleep these days...all because of you...and you are so blissfully ignorant of what is going on with me...what you do to me...how desperate you make me..._

A single tear slid down from his eyes, and his lips quivered.

_What is happening to me, Georgie? What is this deep sense of emptiness I feel within me? This feeling of heart weighing a ton?_

Few more tears rolled down unbidden.

_Is it wrong to fall for one's own twin? Is it a shameful act? Is it a crime? Will I be punished for this crime?_

His face contorted in agony.

_What will be my punishment? Will I be damned to hell? The greatest punishment I could imagine for myself is getting torn apart from you..._

Fred did not know how long he kept staring at his beatific twin, but then he saw his twin's face twisting into the same agonized expression, his body tensed, and he gripped his shoulders tight, and he started murmuring in his sleep, "No..no...not Fred...please...not Fred...kill me instead...kill me..."

"Georgie..."

"No..please..oh no...ohh no...please not Fred..."

"George..."

**"NOOOOO! NOOOOO! FREEEED! FREEED! FREEED!" **His twin was screaming hysterically, his body thrashing wildly against his.

"GEORGE!"

His twin's eyes flew open, and he was panting heavily and sweating profusely. George pulled him close violently, his nails digging into his shoulders, and buried his face in his neck, crying hard.

"Oh Freddie...Freddie...I thought you..." his next words were dissolved in sobs.

"Shh..baby...shh...I'm here...right here..." he stroked his twin's hair gently, and this time, Fred too joined his twin crying.

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	4. Chapter 4

Before he could say 'date', it was Saturday, and he found himself waiting for Angelina outside the entrance hall. As he waited for his first "date", he felt stupid. He didn't know why, but he felt just that...plain stupid. It felt as though he was doing this against his will. He _did not_ want to date some giggly girl, granted Angelina was a Quidditch player and all that, but she still belonged to the giggly female species. He did not feel ready, he did not feel the anticipation he should feel on his first date. All he wanted to do was run back to George and watch his blue eyes sparkle and his face flush a healthy pink glow as he laughed, to turn back this instant and be with his Georgie, talk nineteen to the dozen with him and hold his warm hands.

He saw Angelina approach him, looking prim and proper, wearing light make-up, her braided black hair cascading down to her shoulder, and wearing a fawn coloured, a bit revealing dress reaching up to her knees. She greeted him with a small 'Hi', and Fred thought that she looked a bit nervous and shy around him for the first time after all these years of being together in Quidditch, where she was as boisterous as the boys.

Fred's lips twisted up in a smirk, and he said as they walked, "Nervous, are we?"

"What? No! I'll flush myself down a toilet rather than being nervous about you." She smiled coyly and said rather quickly.

"Your face tells otherwise..."

"Then you are rather bad in reading faces."

"Aw...admit it, Angelina...It won't hurt...just say 'Yeah Fred, I'm really nervous because you look so amazingly hot today.'"

"I would have complimented if you wouldn't have blatantly asked for it yourself."

"Thank you...you look good too..." he grinned and said cheerily.

She rolled her eyes and smiled, and Fred once again felt like she blushed under her chocolate skin.

They spent their time talking and laughing at the Three Broomsticks, and Fred kept up the facade of enjoying each moment with her. He was just physically present there with her, while his heart and his soul were with George. He tried to remind himself a hundred times that this is what a normal bloke should do, date a girl, snog her, have the time of his life; and not keep thinking of his brother while on a date with that girl. But his efforts proved futile. His mind kept wandering to George. What he must be doing now without him, with whom he must be right now, was he alright. And then slowly, his thoughts turned even more paranoid; what if he was with some girl, snogging?

_So what if he's snogging you sick, utter, mentally retarded psycho?_

Later, as they walked back hand in hand through the alley, the setting sun cast a warm golden-orange hue on everything, and his mind was a tempest of thoughts about George. He realized that he did not take pleasure in any moment with Angelina as a potential love interest at all. He liked her just as a friend; he wished to keep their relationship platonic, as fellow Quidditch players, as class mates. That was all.

He looked down at Angelina as she talked on, and he found that she was clearly very taken with him; she kept looking up at him smiling contentedly, eyes shining merrily; but he did not feel the same way for her in return.

As they neared Hogwarts, they dithered before parting ways. _What the hell are you supposed to say? Bye? I gotta go, for I have better things to do than listen to what Katie Bell thinks of Wood?_

"So...that was a lovely evening," Angelina looked up at him with big, black, warm eyes.

"Erm...yeah..." _Meh...could've said something more eloquent, though._

"You headed to the common room, right?"

"No..er...I'll have to stop at the library before that..."

Angelina smiled at him dotingly. "That was my first date, Fred..." she said softly.

"Wow, great coincidence...was mine too..." he gave a careless smile.

To his mild surprise, Angelina drew closer to him, and cupped his face. Her palms felt soft and warm against his cheeks, and she stood on her tip-toes to reach his height, and brought her face close to his, her eyes fluttered close, and she pressed her full, chocolate lips against his own thin, pink lips. It felt like something warm and moist gliding against his lips, and the smell of strawberries attacked his nostrils. All this while, he stood, unmoving, staring at the Hogwarts grounds behind her. He felt her fingers making its way into his hair, and his hair being pulled gently, while her lips moved a bit rougher against his, and her body pressed itself against his.

She pulled back some moments later, and looked slightly crestfallen.

"So...g'night then, Fred..." she said, managing a small smile.

He nodded, "Goodnight..."

Angelina turned and made her way to the Gryffindor common room, while he turned the opposite way and made his way into the entrance hall and towards the library, for he had to grab a potions book. As he strode on, he thought about what had just happened.

_You moron...Angelina kissed you...and you had to stand there like a dork, with your back ramrod straight and your lips pursed up tight and your eyes open wide. You fucking moron...you could have snogged her back while she practically threw herself on you...What about relieving your sexual frustration and all that dragonshit...?_

He entered the library, took long gaits to the 'potions' section, and looked around at the endless rows of books for the one he was searching. George had asked him to bring along a book 'Concise Potions: Ageing techniques' on his way back from his 'date'.

While he moved around between the towering bookshelves, he thought about what a joke his first date turned out to be. _Utterly disastrous_; his twin might have added.

_Oh just get out of my head, Georgie!_

It wasn't Angelina's fault, not at all. She was an attractive girl; any bloke would pay an arm and a leg to be with her. He knew that from Lee, who was downright crazed over her. He was the most green-eyed when he found out that he would be going out with Angelina. "Lucky dog!", he had said.

She behaved just the way any normal girl would behave. She talked about herself, her parents, her life, her friends...it was all perfectly normal. Fred found it a bit hard to handle her giggles whenever he joked, but that was a normal female behaviour; it wasn't her fault that he found it irksome.

And then, she kissed him! It was the first time someone kissed him on his lips, and he could have taken it to dizzying levels by kissing her back and snogging her senseless. But he chose to stand there like a fucking rigid corpse, staring at the pine trees on the grounds.

But what he found as the most bizarre thing was that he felt no emotions run through him at all when she kissed him. He was completely unresponsive to her touch, her kiss. She did not make him feel like the way George made him feel by just touching him lightly.

He found the book he was looking for, and exited the library and walked on briskly to their common room. It was getting dark; the corridors were washed in a deep blue shade of evening. A torch burning a few feet away cast a pool of yellow light below it.

As he walked, a realization struck him hard like a lightning bolt, and he stopped dead on his tracks. How can he be so thick? He had never felt attracted to any girl, so how could he expect that he'd swoon over one out of the blue. He could actually _never _be attracted to any girl. He felt attracted to his twin, who was a guy. So that means he must be attracted to males. He was a gay.

Fredrick Weasely, son of Arthur and Molly Weasely, was a gay.

So be it. Better being gay than being head over heels in love with one's own twin.

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	5. Chapter 5

He entered the common room to find his twin seated on the couch talking animatedly and laughing with Lee, whose expression darkened as soon as he saw him.

"Hello, Fredrick Weasely. Did you get to snog her all right?" he asked unabashedly, not bothering to hide his malevolence.

"Sod off, Lee..." Fred said in a tired voice.

George turned around to look at him, and smiled at him warmly. "We saw her storming in, wasn't in the best of her tempers, that girl..." he narrowed his eyes at him, and gave a lopsided grin, feigning suspicion.

Fred collapsed down on the couch beside his twin, throwing back his head and resting it on the back of the couch and stretching out his legs.

"Ha! He must have tried to violate her..." Lee said spitefully.

"_Fuck_ _off_, Lee...here, George..." he tossed the book he asked for on his lap.

Across them in the common room, Ron, Harry and Hermione were huddled together in some serious discussion. He heard Hermione whisper something like, "...does it hurt now Harry...", but brushed it aside, thinking not to eavesdrop.

Lee scrunched up his face in disgust at him, and then looked down at the book on George's lap. "Ageing techniques...this book must have the answers, George," Lee said, purposely ignoring Fred.

George flipped open the book and read the contents absorbedly, tracing his finger over the lines he was reading. His face then slowly lit up with elation. "This is it! Yes! I knew this book'll say it all...look here, Fred...what we need is a strand of centaur's tail hair...if we add that to a regular Ageing Potion whose effects wear off after a day, the potion changes its inherent properties and becomes a permanent Ageing Potion, that is, we will actually turn seven months older, not just temporarily, but permanently..."

"So that should make you pass through the age line without detection..." Lee chimed in enthusiastically, looking only at George.

"Yeah...age line reacts when in contact with a living body below seventeen years of age...so if our bodies actually age seventeen, magic will be undetectable, so we must be able to pass through..." Fred replied, quoting a book he had read in the library with George. "Hell, if we'd have spent half the time we spent in the library these few days, we'd have passed OWLs with flying colours..."

"Mr. Fredrick Weasely, I did not ask for an explanation from you..." Lee said, staring at the ceiling.

"George, we'll have three hundred and thirty three galleons, twelve sickles and five knuts to ourselves since Lee here has chosen Angelina over the galleons..." Fred said, looking gravely at his twin.

"No no no!", Lee was very quick to exclaim, "All right, Fred, snog her all you want...I'll choose the galleons..."

"Now how in Gryffindor's balls do we find a centaur's hair?" George said.

"Well, there are dozens of em trotting around in the forest...", Lee offered.

"Like they'll wiggle their butts up at your nose and bow down low and say, 'please pull out my hair'" Fred said sarcastically, and George burst out laughing.

"Erm...then how else do we find one?", Lee said in an embarrassed tone.

"We'll have to sneak up to that big bat Snape's office and nick it, fool..." Fred replied.

"You think there'll be centaur's tail hair in there?" George said.

"Old bat keeps all sorts of things, George...things you can't even imagine...Remember last time we passed through his office, we saw unicorn's blood, Merlin, _unicorn's_ blood in a vial..."

"Hmm...How do we break into his office?" George asked.

"That's the tricky part...don't worry...we'll work it out somehow...we won't shy away now that we know what the vital ingredient is..." Fred said airily.

Later that evening after dinner, Fred, George and Lee climbed in through the portrait hole into the common room. Fred paused, holding his twin's hand surreptiously to stop him, and he stopped straight away. He was itching to tell him something which was bothering him since a few days. Lee looked back at them inquiringly, silently asking them if they'll be coming to the dorm room or not, and Fred quickly said, "You get going, Lee; we'll come after a bit."

Lee creased his brows, but nodded and shuffled away, dragging his feet up the stairs, yawning already.

The common room was mostly empty, save for a few studious ones curled up with some book on the couches near the fire-place. They were already late in entering the common room after dawdling around, so most of them must be already in their beds snoring. They narrowly escaped being caught hovering around Snape's office by Filch.

Fred linked his hands with George, and guided him to the couch tucked far into the corner of the common room. It was murky there; the light from the fire-place did not quite reach there.

"What's it, Freddie?", George asked in a mild voice.

Fred smiled faintly thinking how his twin called him 'Freddie', when they were alone; well...he too always avoided calling him 'Georgie' in front of others. Sometimes they acted like lovers hiding their relationship from the world, didn't they, Fred thought wryly.

They sank down on the couch, the moonlight coming in through the huge latticed window swathing his twin's back; it seemed as though his slender body was outlined in silver, and Fred thought he looked even more beautiful, with his long red hair framing his thin pale face.

"Georgie, that Ludo bastard still hasn't replied...d'you think he's conning us?" Fred said, worry shading his tone.

"Nah, I'm sure it must have been a mistake..." George waved it off airily.

"But, Georgie...he payed us off with ruddy Leprechaun gold...can you pass it as a mere mistake...?"

"There must be some other reason, Freddie, don't be paranoid...besides, the man has his plates full these days...what with the tournament and all...he must be busy..." he said, his expression tranquil.

"Oh Georgie, I hate to admit this...but I'm scared shit for the first time in my life...that was all the money we had..." he said, on the verge of hyperventilating.

George took his hands in his and pressed them to relax him, "We'll send him an owl post again if it'll be necessary, Freddie...stay calm..."

"Friggin Salazar...mum has always hated us for our pranks...she'll kill us when she'll find out we've been duped of all our savings..."

"Freddie, you're the one who is valiant and I'm the whiny baby, right? Stop freaking out, I'm there with you, all right...we'll face it together, whatever it is..."

Fred wanted to feel his warmth...right now, else he felt like he might die. He sidled closer to him, not bothering if the nerds seated far ahead near the fireplace might see them, and hooked his arms under his and snuggled into his twin's chest, and he felt somewhat comforted hearing his twin's heart beating steadily, and the warmth seeping into him. George instantly wrapped his arms around him, and rocked back and forth to comfort him.

"So...what did you do to Angelina, Freddie? She bolted to the girl's dorms like she wanted to pee or something..." George's voice reverberated deeply in his ear pressed to his chest.

Fred snorted into his chest, and mumbled, "I did not do anything...she kissed me..."

George stopped rocking, and remained silent for a few moments, and then resumed, and said, "So...is that a reason for her to stomp away humiliated...?" his voice boomed in his ear.

"I did not kiss her back..." Fred's voice was muffled against his chest; his head was filled with his twin's intoxicating vanilla scent.

He felt his twin shake with laughter, "What bloke in his right mind won't kiss her back?", he said.

Fred felt jealousy creep in again, thinking how coolly his twin just subtly admitted that she is kiss-worthy, meaning she is desirable, which meant his twin had observed it, which in turn meant he might kiss her any day if given a chance.

"So...you mean if you were in my place you would have kissed her?" Fred asked in a weak voice.

"Um...dunno...I wasn't in your place, right? So how will I know?", he dodged the question skilfully.

Fred pulled himself away from his twin, and looked at his face, trying to make out his expression in the darkness. His twin looked at him with mild curiosity. "What?" he said.

"Tell me, George...would you have kissed her if you were in my place?"

"Now why are you asking such a retarded question, Freddie?", he said in a slightly amused tone.

"Why can't you answer me straight, George?", he found his voice steadily rising in pitch.

George appeared bemused, "Um...I haven't thought about it, Freddie..I seriously don't know...why are you so getting so passionate about it...I mean...Oh! She's your date now, of course I wouldn't dream of having her for myself if that's what you're getting heated about..."

_No, Georgie...I don't want her...I want you..._

George started laughing at him, "Blimey, Freddie...you sure can be darn possessive...No, Fred, I wouldn't dare to look at your girlfriend in a wrong way..."

"SHE'S NOT MY FUCKING GIRLFRIEND!" Fred bellowed unthinkingly, and immediately regretted it. George looked at him, stunned to silence. Fred saw that the nerds turned around to look at them, whispering confusedly.

"I'm going to bed" Fred said quickly, and shot up from the couch and hurried upstairs to their dorm.

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	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you guest for pointing out the mistake...oops! Sorry! No dots from now on. Except when its absolutely necessary! :D**

**Thank you readers who reviewed! Enjoy!**

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Fred hurried inside the dorm room. The lights were out and the room was painted in pale moonlight. Not surprisingly, Lee was sprawled on his four-poster snoring loudly with his mouth open, his legs dangling out from the bed. Fred sat on his bed, panting from his jog upstairs, and stared down at the wooden floor. _Why did you have to screech like a little girl? You've started acting like a weirdo again! Do you want to hurt him again?!_

Seconds later, he heard the door creak open, and George entered, looking at him with a puzzled expression. Fred quickly looked down to continue staring at the floor. His twin came near and sat down beside him, and he could feel his eyes boring into him.

"Freddie, why the outburst?" he whispered, caringly.

Fred was very interested in observing the floorboards, and did not reply.

"I'm not interested in her, 'kay, like I told you, I don't like dark-skinned brunettes..." and he brought a hand to his chin and held it lightly. Fred's heart fluttered a bit.

His twin gripped his chin and turned his face towards him. "Fred..."he breathed against his face. Fred's head started to spin, and his heart drummed erratically.

George smiled sweetly at him, his moonlit, pale face looking outrageously stunning. "Stop acting like a grouchy child and come to bed..." he whispered. Fred's breath caught, and he was sure he'd swoon right there.

George's hand left his chin to grasp his wrist, and he stood up, tugging his arm. "Get up, Freddie..."

Fred stood up on wobbly legs, and George weaved his fingers with his and pulled him to his bed, facing him, walking backwards to his bed. Fred felt so lightheaded that he collapsed on his twin, and they tumbled on his twin's bed in a tangle of arms and limbs.

"Ouch! Freddie!" his twin whispered, his voice playful, wriggling under him.

Fred's face was buried in his twin's neck, his vanilla scent flooding his head. He heard Lee mutter something unintelligible in his sleep in the background, but it all turned fuzzy, the world turned fuzzy, except George. His movements, his breath, his heartbeat, his scent, his warmth, was all he could comprehend now.

_Damn everything. _He gasped against his twin's neck, and knotted his fingers in his twin's hair and pulled it frantically. He was losing his sanity, his restrain. "George..."he breathed weakly, before biting into his twin's soft neck.

He heard George gasp hard, and that was all it took to turn him into a feral animal. He kissed every inch of his neck ferociously, biting hard, moaning. He wanted to eat him alive, right now. He yanked his twin's hair hard as if he wanted to pull it out of its roots, and began thrusting his hips wildly against his.

"Fred...!" George hissed, and he felt his hands shoving hard against his chest, pushing him away. George gave one hard shove on his chest, and he was pushed away violently.

His twin shot up frantically from his bed, looking appalled and shaken.

"What the _fuck_ was that, Fred..." he said, his voice shaking.

The haze slowly left his head, and the reality hit him hard.

_OH FUCK! I tried to violate him! My twin! Oh no! I'll lose him, my Georgie!_

"George...I...I...oh no...Georgie..." he whispered, fear overwhelming his senses. He felt his blood drain from his face, and he suddenly felt cold, his heart hammered and his stomach churned.

His twin stood staring at him, zapped, lost for words.

"Georgie..." his heart pounded in his throat now, he was never this scared in his life. George was staring so intensely at him, he wanted to die, wanted to disappear. He felt ashamed under his twin's piercing blue eyes.

Then, his twin wordlessly turned his back to him and slowly moved to his bed, leaving him this time. He watched his twin climb on to his bed, and pull the curtain close around him, all the while avoiding looking at him, and blocked his view to him.

Fred slumped down on to his twin's bed, scared out of his wits.

_You FREAK! You fucking bastard! You disgusting brother-fucker! You've lost him! He'll never look at you now! Oh no, I lost my Georgie, my brother, my twin, my best friend, the love of my life..._

And, not for the first time in his life, he buried his face into his pillow; vanilla scent still lingered on it, and cried hard into it.

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	7. Chapter 7

The night was spent staying wide awake, tossing and turning on his twin's bed, crying bitterly, his twin's completely stunned expression, his blue eyes wide in disbelief replaying over and over in his mind, torturing him.

He pulled himself from his bed at last, not able to stay lying on the bed any longer. It was still dark. He peered at his watch, and it showed the time as 4.11 am. He looked over at the bed next to him to find that the curtains were still closed, and not a sound came from the bed.

He slowly made his way into the bathroom. Moments later, he stripped off his clothes and sank into the tub filled with warm water. He lay there motionless, his head resting on the back of the tub, staring at the ceiling, eyes stinging with tears, for Merlin knows how long, until he shivered and realized that the water had turned cold.

He heaved himself out the tub, wrapped a towel around his waist, and stared at the mirror in front of him. George stared back at him, but this George lacked purity, lacked a childlike, adorable smile gracing his curved lips, his lips were too thin, and his shoulders were slightly broader, his eyes were puffy and red.

He moved closer to the mirror, and rested his forehead on it. His breath shuddered with a sob.

"What have I done? I kissed my own twin, my Georgie..." his breath fogged the mirror. He closed his eyes, letting tears stream down his cheeks.

Later, he found himself standing in the empty common room, alone, forehead pressed to the window, staring at the glowing red sun slowly rise from the far off hazy mountains, the violet shade of the sky leisurely morphing into deep orange, the lochs glimmering red and orange like rubies, the colour of his twin's hair...

He let out a huge sigh. How the bloody hell will he face his twin after what happened last night. He felt like running away from Hogwarts, far away from the sight of his twin.

"Hey, Fred, what the hell, " he heard a loud yawn, "you doin standing alone like a," another yawn, "dork?"

He turned around and saw Lee looking at him curiously, eyes drooping with sleep, his dreadlocks dishevelled.

"Meditating", he replied honestly.

Lee burst out laughing. "Bet its about Angelina..well meditate all you want, bozo, because later you won't get the time to at least catch your breath,"

"What are you babbling, Lee?" Fred asked, irritated.

"I found out a way to get the keys to big bat's office" he said drowsily.

"What, did you have a revelation in your dreams?", he asked jadedly, knowing that Lee's ideas were always crappy.

"I figured out before I conked out last night. Would've discussed it with you guys, but you two decided to spend some lovey-dovey time togeth-"

"What!" He felt an irrational fear creep up. _Did he see us on the bed? But he was asleep!_

"What 'what'? You two ditched me on the way to bed, now as I was saying, bozo, my brain was abnormally sharp last night, and I hatched an ingenious plan before my brain would return to its natural dim state and shut down completely. Now stop staring at me like I'm Angelina, I'll tell you what my plan is later when your better half will be with you..." and he lumbered off to the bathroom.

_My better half_. His chest tightened at Lee's absent-minded words, and tears threatened to well up. _I'll be darn lucky if he won't slap me hard the moment he'll see me._

He slumped down on the couch. People were trickling into the common room slowly as the light gradually brightened from orange to yellow. George will come in any moment now. He felt dread building up with each passing second.

A few moments later, Harry and Ron hopped down the stairs together, engaged in an absorbed conversation. Ron's eyes flickered to him, and his brown eyes widened. Harry too turned around to look at what Ron was so surprised about.

"Blimey, Fred; you look as though you've wrestled with a troll, did someone punch you in the eyes?" Ron asked incredulously.

"No, but right now I feel like punching your eyes." Fred said tetchily.

"Fred, your eyes look like Cho Chang's" Ron said, not offended at all.

"And your hair looks like rat's nest, prat." Fred replied, pissed beyond belief.

Harry grinned and said, "Thanks for saying that, Fred." Ron snorted indignantly, "By the way, what's wrong? You really look sleep-deprived," Harry asked kindly.

"Nothing, I, did not sleep. Was reading charms, you know, looking for new ways to create fake wands..." Fred lied on the spot.

"As if you haven't created enough fake wands already," Ron said, grinning.

"Ron, will you please get the fuck out of my sight?" Fred said in a dangerously quiet voice.

Harry seemed to sense his grumpy mood, and pulled Ron's arm, "Well, we'll get going then. Meet you in the Great Hall, Fred" Harry said.

Fred nodded, and they shuffled out of the common room.

Fred rested his head on the back of the couch and closed his eyes, awaiting the terrible moment when he'd feel the sharp sting of palm meeting hard against his cheek, the moment, now minutes away, when his twin will slap him hard, hurt him for the first time in his life.

Moments later, he felt the couch bob, and vanilla scent filled the air. His heart kicked up a notch.

"Fred...", a sweet, tired voice called him.

He kept his eyes closed, thinking that it was all a nightmare, that when he'll open his eyes he'll find that last night was a dream.

A warm hand overlapped his hand placed on the couch. "Fred, did you sleep last night?"he asked quietly.

"No," Fred whispered, eyes still closed, his heart pounding wildly.

"Your eyelashes are wet, and your lips are red, and your nose too," he murmured.

Fred was such a sissy. He kept his eyes closed stubbornly.

"Look at me, Fred..." he whispered.

_Don't speak in that seductively quiet voice you tormentor it drives me nuts._

"Fred, open your eyes and look at me..."

_ Oh_ _he won't call me Freddie he is pissed..._

"I, c-can't," he barely whispered. He was breathing hard now.

"Freddie, relax, I won't hurt you," he said in a soothing voice. His twin understood what he was thinking through their strong mental bond.

Fred gathered all the little courage he had and cracked open his eyes. His beautiful, _beautiful_ twin, his ginger hair dishevelled and falling into his eyes, the buttons of his crumpled white shirt open halfway down, the rims of his eyes red, was looking at him gently. _Gently_. His mere presence was driving him crazy with fear and love.

"I'm sorry, Georgie, don't hate me, please..." he whispered pathetically.

"I won't hate you, I can't, no matter how hard I'd try," he smiled sadly.

"I'm such an obnoxious fool, Georgie, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, so sorry..."his voice quivered, trying hard not to snivel.

"S'okay, Freddie, don't be scared," his twin looked at him with deep compassion, his brows pulled together and his eyes shining with tears, and took his hands in his, and pressed them lightly.

Fred was hyperventilating. "Don't you ever l-leave me, Georgie...don't hate me, d-don't..I'm despicable, horrendous, b-but I c- can't live without y-you," tears rolled down his cheeks.

George seemed heartbroken at his pathetic whimpers. He reached out a hand and wiped away his tears gently. "Now, now, don't cry, Freddie, I won't hate you, I promise. Stop crying, stupid...people will see you crying and die of a heart-attack," his twin smiled through his tears, attempting a lame joke.

Fred tried to control his tears, but that only made more tears to fall down, tears of shame, tears of self-loathing, tears of despair.

George let out a low moan of anguish at his pitiful state, and pulled him close in a rough embrace, not bothering if others might see them hugging on to each other desperately, and Fred let himself weep quietly into his twin's shoulders, sogging his white shirt.

After a few moments, he heard a startled yelp, and recognized the voice as Lee's.

"Woah! What a gobsmacking sight! What, you guys rehearsing for some tragedy play or _what_!"

"Buzz off, Lee" he heard George's muffled voice against his shoulder.

"Sometimes I really have a nagging doubt that you two were lovers in your previous life," Lee said, laughing heartily.

_Oh Lee if you only knew..._Fred thought wryly.

"Well, after you two'll be done with your rehearsals, please join me for the breakfast in the Great Hall. I'v got a real beauty to show you guys, Byee! Enjoy rehearsing!" And he literally buzzed off to the Great Hall.

George massaged his back with one hand, and Fred felt his muscles ease and his breath become slower. He sighed into his twin's shoulder.

"Are you not angry with me, Georgie?" he said slowly.

"Well, I was last night, but then I don't know where my anger disappeared to when I saw your distraught face,"

They sat hugging for what felt like eternity. George pulled back later, and said, "I'll hurry and change into robes, 'kay; wait here, we'll go to the Great Hall together,"

He smiled gently, and stood and turned back, and disappeared into the bathroom.

Fred sighed. _You are such a pure angel, Georgie. How can you be so gentle? You're so gentle, you make my heart break. You make me fall in love with you even more._

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	8. Chapter 8

Lee was wolfing down bacon when they hurried to the Gryffindor table and slid down beside him. "Wha...you two're..seriously 'ate," he mumbled with bacon in his mouth.

"Either eat or talk, dumbshit," Fred said blithely. He was in better spirits since he was relieved that his angel of a twin has forgiven him.

"He's turned into Ron!" George added to the insult.

Lee gulped down his bacon and said, "If you go on insulting me then I'll go open Snape's office by myself and you two'll be left gawking when I walk away with a thousand galleons,"

"Oh, don't be so sure. You know you'll fail miserably without us," George said, heaping lamb chops on his plate.

"But we, generous, benevolent and refined gentlemen, always pull you out of the swamps you dive into," Fred said, his wicked grin identical to his twin's.

"Whatever," he swigged down the remainder of his pumpkin juice, and leaned closer to them with a thrilled expression, and whispered excitedly "Hey, have you guys ever heard of chloroform?"

"Coro-what?" George repeated blankly, blinking, as if Lee talked troll.

"Don't tell me you haven't heard of it! Your father is a muggle aficionado for Godric's sake!" Lee's excitement was building up.

"He's lost it," Fred said sorrowfully, shaking his head, and jabbed the roast potato into his mouth.

"So you two have no idea what it is?" Lee asked incredulously.

"You aren't making any sense, Lee," George said.

"I tell you its high time that he's carted off to St. Mungo's," Fred added.

"Shut up, bozo! Look here,"

Fred and George simultaneously turned their heads to what he covertly pulled out of his robes and held in his hand. It was a translucent vial half-filled with a clear liquid which appeared to be water.

"What? Water?" George said, looking at Lee as if he was dumb.

"Its chloroform, nutters, you must've heard of it from your dad! Its a muggle-made substance!"

"We don't hang around dad catching every word he prattles about muggles, dickhead," Fred said.

Lee continued on as if he did not hear him, brimming with excitement, "This beauty surpasses all the high level body-binding, knocking-out curses invented by the wizarding world. We'd be able to knock out the person we intend to without the slightest detection of magic or suspicion!"

At this, Fred's and George's eyes widened as one, slowly processing Lee's rambling, and a slow, sly smile stretched on their lips, "Wicked!", they both exclaimed together, and then looked at each other, smirking at their synchronized remark.

Lee explained on like a professor, "What I'm holding in my hand right now is a highly concentrated version of it, enough to knock out a person for hours, meaning we can conk Filch off and haha, filch the keys!"

"Blimey, I love you, Lee! You've proved that your skull is not filled with dung for the first time in your life!" George said.

"But how in Merlin's boxers did you get hold of this?" Fred said admiringly.

"My cousin's a muggle, nutters, remember the weirdo with silver things clipped to his lip who accompanied me to King's Cross last year? He works with all these bizarre liquids that muggles manufacture which mimics magic, like healing potions,"

"Wacky!" they exclaimed together again.

"Yeah, so when I went to his place this summer, I chanced upon this beauty lying abandoned on his cluttered desk, and read on what was written about it in the back in teeny letters, and whoa, it said that you'll conk out if you sniff it! So, I, being intelligent and gifted, pocketed it, thinking it'll be really helpful in our wild endeavours! Howzzat?!"

"The dog's bollocks!" they said, this time laughing at their matched remark.

"I tested it on his cat, and it lied comatose for hours!"

"Wild!"

"So, how about an escapade this evening?" Lee said with palpable glee.

"Totally ready!" George said with gusto, and stuffed bacon in his mouth.

Ron, flanked by Harry and Hermione who were talking with Ginny and Dean, wasn't paying attention to them, and instead, was looking at them curiously; apparently cottoning on that they were seriously planning some prank.

Fred cocked an eyebrow questioningly at him, daring him to snoop, and Ron quickly looked away, scared.

George laughed at his cheekiness, shaking his head, and once again, Fred was awestruck by his twin's beauty. He looked at him intensely, and the world around George disappeared slowly, and memories of last night came flooding in; his enthralling scent, the feel of his body under him, the way he gasped, his neck...and he felt like doing him right there on the Gryffindor table in front of everyone.

He mentally shook himself, aware of a growing boner, and concentrated hard on mashed potatoes.

"Well, hurry up you two," Lee had finished with his breakfast and was impatiently waiting for them, "Double Potions with Slytherins, fun and frolic with big bat in five minutes, bozos,"

Fred and George hurriedly stuffed their mouths with bacon, washed it down with pumpkin juice, and dashed towards the dungeons with Lee to Snape's class.

The murky class was almost filled with all the students, and they scurried to their usual place, far back, behind the geeks crowded in front of them. Minutes later, Snape whooshed in like a gloomy thunderstorm with his black robes billowing behind him.

He swept his cold gaze on them all, and said in a quiet tone, "Open your textbooks to page 483, Strengthening Potion. The theory has been explained to you in detail in the previous classes. In this class, you will read the instructions carefully, and brew it. I want clear, colourless and odourless concoction within sixty minutes."

"Oooooh! He's jovial as ever!" Lee hissed.

George whispered, "Now is the time to nick the prepared regular Ageing Potion,". He was eyeing the small corked bottles cluttered together on the racks behind them. Among the endless shelves was one labelled 'Ageing Potion', the second-last from the right.

Fred took out the cauldron and was propping it over the fire." How the hell do we distract Snape?" he said.

"I'll do it," Lee said, puffing out his chest bravely.

Fred nodded furtively, and whispered, "We'll wait until there's minutes left for the class to end, and,"

"Lee will set up the distraction," George said, "By the way, what the hell will you do?"

"Leave that part to me," Lee said pompously. He took out a crumpled paper from his robes, and slipped it surreptitiously to George's hand. "Instant Darkness Powder!" he whispered.

"You three!", they heard a sharp hiss from across the room. Snape was glaring at them furiously, "Thirty points from Gryffindor for having the audacity to murmur in my class! Spread out and get on with your tasks immediately!"

The rest of the class was spent brewing Strengthening Potion, and Fred and George exchanged quiet looks in between, memories of last night jumping up at inopportune moments. At one point, he went to the store cupboard to get aconel root, and George was already there hunting for one, his fiery red hair slightly damp with sweat, sticking to the nape of his fair neck, and he suddenly turned around and banged right into him; he could hear the chuckles behind him, but all Fred wanted to do was push his twin against the cupboard and crush his mouth to his.

George simply gave a smile and strode back to his place, and Fred stood there, retrieving his senses, and took what he needed.

After about sixty minutes into the class, Fred's Strengthening Potion was bubbling, slowly turning its colour from light pink to translucent. Across him, Lee was struggling with his brew, green toxic fumes emanating from his cauldron, and Snape glided to him like a ghost, smirking, "I'm afraid you've got it all wrong, Mr. Jordan; haven't you been revising the theories?" he said in an infuriatingly quiet, mocking tone.

"Er, not really, actually, I hate potions, you see.." Lee said, smiling innocently.

Snape's features turned vicious, lips curling in antipathy, "You've got the nerve to answer me like that!" he breathed on Lee's face, and Lee scrunched up his face in nausea. George was suppressing his snickers, hands pressed to his mouth, leaning back on the desk. Fred noticed that he had brewed perfect Veritaserum. Gryffindors looked on with interest, grinning, silently cheering, while Slytherins stood scowling.

"Erm, yeah, its not that hard, you know, to say 'I hate potions'" Lee said earnestly.

"Why you insolent little-" At that moment, the whole class was engulfed in thick dark smoke, and nothing was visible, except dark brown smoke. Everyone was shrieking or murmuring, the class was in disarray.

"WHO DID THIS?!" Snape bellowed.

Fred was quick to take this as the cue to dash towards the racks. He blindly moved backwards, knowing that the racks were directly behind him. He hit the rack and heard the jangle of vials shaking. He moved his hands over the racks frantically, starting from the one at the right corner of the wall towards the left, the smoke was thinning slightly, and he could just make out 'Age-' in the sepia surroundings. He grabbed the vague form of vial sitting in the shelf, and ran forwards blindly, the path ahead of him thick with smoke, and hit against his desk hard. He jammed the vial inside his robes. His whole action was executed within a frenzied few seconds.

"I ASKED WHO DID THIS?!" Snape roared dangerously. Everyone was murmuring in bafflement.

_As if we're gonna tell you, idiot! _Fred thought. The darkness thinned gradually, and Snape was standing with a crazed expression on his face. It was so hilarious; he couldn't discern who the perpetrator was. He swivelled his head at every one, and Fred arranged his expression to that of mild curiosity and surprise, Lee was standing with a very surprised expression, and George was blinking his eyes confusedly.

"WHOEVER DID THIS WILL BE SERIOUSLY DEALT WITH! I WILL PERSONALLY MAKE SURE THAT THE CULPRIT IS EXPELLED!", he turned to Lee, and vented his anger on him, "You! Fifty points from Gryffindor for your impudence! You will write the theory of Strengthening Potion 50 times, and serve detention this evening brewing a perfect Strengthening Potion! Got it?!"

Lee nodded meekly.

They were laughing their heads off on their way to Defense Against Dark Arts class.

"But Lee, you'll be serving detention this evening," George said, after catching his breath, stepping on to a swivelling staircase, and Fred followed him.

"Uhuh, too bad, I know. Guess you guys'll have to deal with Filch without me," he said dejectedly.

"Lee, that was one _hell of a_ stroke of genius," said Fred, grinning appreciatively at Lee.

"The stroke of genius, which shows itself once in a blue moon, dazzling us mortals," George said, closing his eyes for effect.

Lee facepalmed, and said, "Oh stop it you guys, I'm blushing," and they all entered DADA class laughing, taking their seats at the back row.

It was their first DADA class. They were looking forward to see how the new teacher would fare. He was well-known to be a complete nutter.

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	9. Chapter 9

**Ugh! I noticed that I made slight errors in usage of idioms in the previous chapter. I've corrected and re-posted it.**

**Please feel free to point out any mistakes you'd come across, really, I won't be angry. :D**

**This fic is getting longer than I expected. I thought to wrap it up with at the most 20 chapters, but I think it'll get longer than that.**

**In this chap I'll be quoting certain dialogues from HP4.**

**_Disclaimer: The dialogues and words mentioned belong to JK Rowling, our queen._**

**Here you go with the next chappie! Enjoy lovelies! Especially the lovelies who review!**

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Mad-Eye Moody was simply...superb. There was no other word to describe him better. They expected the DADA class would turn out to be a joke, but the class was so riveting that they did not get the time to at least pull their usual pranks on fellow classmates.

For one, he caught Lee trying to catch Angelina's attention when his back was turned to them, and he just shot a curse at Lee, without even turning, which made him slap himself.

"Imperius curse..." he said in his gruff tone. "Total control on other's mind and body," He suddenly turned around and barked, "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" and they all jumped out of their skins. "That's the only way to avoid being hit by curses,"

He gave a fantastic demonstration of the unforgivables on mice, and then imperiused them all one by one. George did an amazing tap dance, Lee wiggled his butts, Angelina pirouetted and sung Hogwarts anthem, Fred did cartwheels.

He then introduced them to another curse.

"This one isn't one of the unforgivables because of its inability to cause serious harm to the victim; it doesn't kill, doesn't inflict pain, doesn't control one's action; in fact, it is the opposite of imperius curse. But this curse is included among the dark curses because it forcibly exposes your deepest desires; you could call it a curse-counterpart of Mirror of Erised. It is called 'wenstelio'" His lips then twisted into a smile, which made him look scarier, "Anyone daring enough to give it a try?"

The whole class suddenly became still. Everyone looked at each other as if silently asking, "Will you...?"

Suddenly, Lee's hand shot up, Gryffindor bravado shining through. Moody smirked, "Very well then, WENSTELIO!"

Lee shot out of his seat with a yell, "YAAY! I WON THE TOURNAMENT! WOOHOO!" He pumped his fist wildly in the air and jumped up and down, "ANGELINA! DITCH THAT BOZO AND BE MY GIRLFRIEND! I'VE GOT FAME, GALLEONS, AND A HOT GIRLFRIEND! WOOHOO!" He did a wild victory dance.

The whole class erupted in laughter, even Moody was laughing. Moody lifted the curse, and Lee suddenly sobered down with a dazed expression.

"Ugh!" Angelina was fuming.

"Bozo, am I?" Fred slapped him hard on his back. "Ow!" Lee said, rubbing his back.

"Serves you right," said George, smirking.

"Anyone else?" Moody asked with a good natured smirk.

_Definitely not me...don't want to shock everyone by raping my twin right here._ Fred thought, shuddering.

Cho Chang raised her hand hesitantly, looking around at everyone for reassurance. Everyone nodded, eager for a show. Moody wasted no time. "WENSTELIO!"

Cho Chang smiled sweetly and said gaily, "Thank you, thank you for your support...yes, you'll see me doing a Wronsky Feint in my next Quidditch world cup..." she waved and gave flying kisses to an imaginary praising crowd.

More people bravely volunteered, and each revealed desires mostly of eminence, money, beauty, and occasionally, fickle love interests.

Then, George raised his hand with a firm expression.

Fred's heart suddenly leapt with anticipation. He felt a thrill of both fear and eagerness course through his body. His mind was buzzing with a horde of thoughts.

"WENSTELIO!"

George turned his thin, pale, freckled, beautiful face to him, his blue eyes penetrating into his soul, swimming with deep emotions which he couldn't comprehend.

The world around him faded away, and he was entranced, enraptured under his twin's hypnotic stare. His twin drew closer to him slowly, his arms snaked under his and he pulled him gently in a tender embrace. Fred closed his eyes and buried his face in his hair. He felt gentle caresses on his back, and a warm breath against his ear, which tingled his skin, and his twin whispered ever so softly into his ear, "I love you..."

The soft whisper echoed inside his head. Fred felt his heart swell with a lot of emotions he couldn't put name to. He wanted to laugh and cry at once, he wanted to scream, to sob, wanted to jump up and down with joy, wanted to faint.

And then, his twin drew back, his eyes glazed over for a second as the curse lifted, and then focused again. Fred returned to earth, and they both stared at each other, eyes conveying deep emotions.

They tore their eyes away from each other, and Fred saw that everyone was staring at them in amazement.

"Ah, you two'll be the Weasley twins, sons of Arthur Weasley, eh?" Moody asked, looking at them in mild amusement.

"Er, yeah..." George replied. Fred's ability to speak was currently paralyzed.

"Great bond you share there, twins normally do; that was your deepest desire, boy, all you want is your twin," he gave a kind, amused smile.

And then they were shown totally wild assortment of dark creatures. He had them all locked in huge cages, which was kept muffliatoed until then. He lifted the charm, and there came a flurry of wild, sinister noises. One was an Aswang, really creepy, with blood-shot eyes, shrivelled form, and decaying teeth. It was wailing constantly.

"Cross between vampire and witch," Moody grumbled.

Then there was a Gorgon, and Moody sealed its eyes shut with a curse as soon as he ripped off the curtain hiding it, "Don't want it to stare at you and turn you into stones," It was terrible, skeletal, with snakes sprouting out of its head.

Moody ripped off yet another curtain off a cage, and George involuntarily grasped Fred's hand; it was the mother of all dark creatures, "Wendigo," Moody informed them. It was pale and colossal, blood-red eyes burning with craving, its rotting mouth drooling. "We're all his favourite dessert," Moody said with a harsh laugh.

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"DADA was superb, man! But, whoa, George, I know you two're joined at the hips, but that was...wacky, really, George, you don't want galleons? Girls? You are _strange_..." Lee was jabbering on their way to the Great Hall for dinner.

They entered the Great Hall to the sight of Moody controlling a pure white ferret, bouncing it ten feet up in the air and then banging it down, repeatedly, "Never – do – that – again –" Moody growled.

Prof. McGonagall rushed in with an appalled expression, and as soon as she grasped that it was a student, she quickly transfigured the ferret back. It was Malfoy, lying in a heap on the floor with a completely embarrassed expression, his usually pale face pink.

Colin Creevey, who was munching on pudding, turned to them and said,"Oh! Fred! George! You guys should've been here a few minutes before; Malfoy, acting all puffed-up, was ridiculing your family as usual, and what you saw right now was the punishment he got for that from Moody. Nice guy, isn't he?"

"Totally," Fred and George said together fervently.

"One day, I'm going to blast him off to mars," George said, his face twisting into pure contempt for Malfoy.

Fred reached out and held his hand to calm him down, and they made their way to the seat from where Hermione sprung up and hastily came running and bumped into Fred.

"Ow," "Ooof" They said at once. Hermione looked up, her hair somewhat mussed, and smiled apologetically, "Sorry, Fred! Got to rush to the library!"

"Not surprised!" George grinned.

Fred sat down on the seat vacated by Hermione. Harry and Ron were already seated, appearing awed by Moody's antics.

Fred grinned at Ron, who was sitting with his eyes closed and mouth open, "Amazing bouncing ferret..." he whispered.

"Moody! How cool is he?" Fred said, looking at Ron. He felt so light-hearted after knowing his twin's deepest desire. _I love you..._the soft whisper echoed inside his head for a hundredth time, and he felt a rush of pure bliss flow through his veins.

George took his seat opposite Fred, smiling at him warmly, "Beyond cool," he said.

Lee slid down on the seat beside him, "Supercool," he chimed in.

Harry looked at them excitedly, "What was it like," he asked with wide eyes.

Fred, George and Lee exchanged looks full of meaning. Fred was trying hard not to burst out laughing when he remembered Lee's wild antics, and when he looked at George, he felt a wild surge of happiness.

"Never had a lesson like it," Fred said.

"He _knows_, man," Lee said.

"Knows what," Ron asked, his eyes alight with eagerness.

"Knows what it's like to be out there _doing_ it," said George impressively.

"Doing what?" said Harry.

"Fighting the Dark Arts," said Fred.

"He's seen it all," said George.

"'Mazing," said Lee.

Ron groped inside his bag for his schedule, "We haven't got him till Thursday!", he sounded disappointed.

They were really ravenous after the long day, and finished their dinner rapaciously.

"Oof...almos' eight...gotta meet ol' bat...'e mus' be waitin' fo' me..", Lee stuffed the last of roast chicken into his mouth, and hastily got up. He gulped, and said, "So, my dear bozos, we have in our possession the regular Ageing Potion, what we now need is centaur's tail hair,"

"Yep, two more things to nick, and we'll have our mission accomplished," George grinned.

"So, I bequeath to you the beauty, chloroform," he took the vial out of his robes, and handed it very covertly to Fred. He took it and slipped it inside his robes.

"Oh, I'm so darn _lucky_ to stay brewing Veritaserum in the dungeons while you two'll be having the time of your lives conking Filch off," he said with mock enragement, banging his fist on the table, and then he turned and hurried towards the dungeons.

"Right, have a lovely evening, Lee," Fred called after him, and Lee, without turning back, raised his hand and stuck out his middle finger at him.

"He'll pay for that later," George grinned, shaking his head, and then he turned to look at Fred, his eyes sparkling with mischief "So, dear twin, ready for another adventure?"

"Yep," said Fred, looking into his beautiful twin's sparkling blue eyes.

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	10. Chapter 10

**I have noticed that a lot of people read, but don't ****_review_****! Please guys, let me know what you think, share some ideas...cmon...**

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They were absorbed in planning out ways to execute their next move, which was, knocking out Filch to steal the keys to Snape's office, while on their way to the Gryffindor common room.

"Maybe Snape will stay watching over Lee in detention- " George panted out while mounting the stairs.

"Nah, he may assign someone else to watch over Lee while he'll prowl around doing his rounds, Georgie; we can't be sure,"

"Evading the professors is easy, we've done that a lot of times, knocking out Filch is the tougher part," George's brows were pulled together in concentration, and he was chewing at his lower lip, the way he does whenever he plans out something, and Fred was sure that he was wearing the same expression.

"Balderdash" George distractedly told the Fat Lady. It swung open, and they climbed inside.

"We could ask Harry for his Invisibility Cloak?" Fred said hopefully.

"Nah, Freddie, he'll wonder what we're up to; besides, we don't want to _cadge_, I'll rather drown myself in Thames," George said as they climbed up the spiral staircase to their dorm.

"Or else, we could cast a disillusionment charm on ourselves, and wait in the shadows; yeah, one of us could keep watch, look if the coast is clear, and, we could use extendable ears to relay things," Fred's brain was working at top speed.

"Mhm, that's more like it; better than cadging, we'd better take along some dungbombs or decoy detonators with us too, just in case," George said as they entered their empty dorm.

Fred took out the vial of chloroform out of his robes, "Cool stuff," he said as he read the caution written in tiny letters behind it. "We'll have to dab it on some rag, and hold it to Filch's nose, Georgie,". He opened the vial, and let a drop of it drip on his finger. "Oh, its ice cold, and vanishes instantly! Got a strange smell too, hope I won't conk out,". He screwed the cap back on it swiftly and slipped it back in his robes.

"You're sounding like dad, Freddie," George laughed as he crouched down beside his bed, pulled out his trunk, and began flinging out his shirts, boxers, quidditch robes, broken spell-check quills, "Where the hell's detonators," he muttered.

Fred sat down on his bed, gazing at his twin, "Georgie?"

"Mm?" he made a small, inattentive noise.

"You know what you said in Moody's class, right?" Fred asked.

"What?" George said as he flung out his sweater.

Fred was getting frustrated. He watched his twin's face; it was blank, peering inside his trunk. _He's acting as if he forgot what he told..._Fred got up, and made his way toward his twin.

"Are you deliberately trying to make me say it, you bastard?" he said in an impatient tone, crouching down beside his twin.

George looked up at his face, "What?" he said again, his gaze steady.

Fred didn't know why he did it, but his face moved closer to his twin's, until it was inches away from his, and he was looking deep into his twin's amazing blue eyes, "You said you love me," he whispered.

George's eyes locked onto his, and his breath quickened, puffing against Fred's face, "Freddie, I love you, as my twin, my brother, my best friend," he whispered.

Fred drew away from his face, something inside his mind snapped, and then he became aware of his heart crumbling devastatingly.

"Oh, yeah, right," he looked down, and began fumbling with his pockets, "Right," he awkwardly stood up and stumbled away to his bed, observing the floorboards keenly.

"Fred," George called from behind, but he did not turn back, he couldn't. "Freddie, what's wrong with you," he whispered.

"Nothing," he mumbled, the air had grown rather tense. "Extendable ears aren't in your trunk, are they?" he suddenly asked.

"No," George replied in a small voice.

"Then I'll check if its there in my trunk," he pulled out his trunk and rummaged through the contents, found the flesh-coloured string, and pulled it out, fake ears dangling on its ends, and slipped it inside his robes.

He could hear George's footsteps drawing near, and Fred asked without turning back, "Got everything?"

George made a sound in assent.

"Lets hurry, then, lets be done with this before the prefects start their rounds at nine," and he strode out of the dorm room without looking back at George.

The common room was filled with students, few chattering away in corners, few studying. Ron, Harry, Ginny, Seamus and Dean were playing exploding snaps, while Hermione was leafing through a book.

"Oi! Where to? Its past curfew," Ron called out.

"Oh just to get away from you so we could find some peace," George said, trailing behind Fred.

They cast disillusionment charm on themselves as soon as they climbed out the portrait hole, and glided noiselessly through the semi-dark corridors, the dying torches casting a very weak light.

They tiptoed up the stairs to the third floor; the portraits lining the wall were yawning already, rounded a murky corner, and crept silently toward Filch's dingy little office. They knew the route, as well as every little crevice in his office off pat because of the numerous times they'd been dragged into his office by him after catching them in their pranks.

Filch was scrubbing the dusty floor of his office when they reached. Even though they were blended into the surrounding like chameleons because of the charm, Filch, being gallingly perceptive, stopped scrubbing, frowned, and twitched his lips.

Fred hurriedly took out the vial and tipped the icy liquid on a rag. Mrs. Norris jumped in front of them out of nowhere, sniffing madly, her tail held high, back arching and claws bared on her paws. Before she could mew and put them in peril, Fred punched the rag on its nose, and it instantly collapsed and fell limp.

Filch too seemed to smell the strange aroma, his nose crinkled, and spun his head toward their general direction, and he saw Mrs. Norris lying out cold, and let out a shocked yap.

"Oh no sweetie, my sweetie, what's wrong," He seemed horrified. He hobbled toward them, and as soon as he came near, before he could make sense of anything, Fred thrust the rag on his nose hard, and kept it pressed, until his eyes rolled back, and he too fell down in a heap.

"Yes!" George hissed triumphantly.

"Lets hunt for the keys," Fred said, and they moved toward the old cupboard where they knew he hung the hundreds of keys of Hogwarts' rooms. The cupboard was locked. "Georgie, ransack Filch inside out, he must have the cupboard's key in one of his pockets,"

George immediately groped Filch's pockets, and returned with five keys, and handed them all to Fred. He tried three keys, and the cupboard opened with the fourth key. It was too dark to make out anything inside the cupboard. Without the need to tell him, George lit his wand, and he could make out hundreds of keys flickering silver in the wand's light. Filch had stuck labels above groups of keys, 'library', 'dormitories', 'classrooms', 'dungeons',

"Aha," Fred said as he saw 'professors' offices'. There were fifteen of them, and he took them all, and crammed them inside his robes, where they clinked merrily.

"Lets go," Fred hissed, and without wasting any time, they hurried out of Filch's office towards Snape's office located downstairs. They glided like ghosts down the stone stairs and through the passageway, concealed under their disillusionment charm, and as soon as they reached the oak doors of Snape's office, which was, unsurprisingly, locked, Fred began trying the keys one by one in top speed, and it opened with the seventh try.

"Yes! Georgie, we don't have any time to waste, here," he handed the rest of the keys to George, and said hurriedly, "Run back and put these back to their place, and lock the cupboard, and head straight to the dorms, any professor could be here any moment, hand me a detonator, quick!"

And George handed him one, and Fred explained hastily, "I'll set off a detonator if anyone would come near, _don't_ come searching for me, now go, _go_!"

George nodded and set out, and Fred dashed inside Snape's pitch dark office, his heart thudding with nerves, and closed the door. He lit his wand, and began searching for the one thing they took so much pains for, centaur's tail hair.

_I'll murder a ruddy centaur one day..._ He thought, as he searched through the endless bottles with stuffed creatures, and vials with potions of varying colours.

And at long last, _he found it_! Sitting among phoenix's claw and unicorn's horn was a bottle labelled 'centaur's tail hair'.

But at the same moment, he heard rapid footsteps drawing near. _FUCK!_

The doors banged open, and it was _Snape_!

Without thinking, Fred threw a decoy detonator just as Snape uttered "Homenum Revel-" And Snape whirled around at the loud bang which came from at least a hundred feet away, and darted out of the office toward the sound.

Fred grabbed the bottle, and sprinted madly upstairs towards their common room, he had never run faster in his life, and shouted "Balderdash Balderdash Balderdash!" at the Fat Lady.

"Who's there?" she asked lazily, her eyes drooping with sleep.

Fred hurriedly lifted the disillusionment charm off him, and, pissed and intolerant beyond belief, yelled, "Your boyfriend! Just fucking open!"

Fat Lady, stunned, opened wordlessly, and he stumbled in the common room, relief washing over him as the warm red and golden Gryffindor atmosphere swathed him.

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	11. Chapter 11

**This chapter will be intersecting with some GoF chapters. I'll be quoting certain dialogues and words from HP4. After this chapter, my fic will veer slightly away from the original plot of GoF. :D**

**Disclaimer: The dialogues and words mentioned belong to the most amazing author in the world, JK Rowling.**

**Thank you those who reviewed, your reviews brighten up my day. :D **

**Enjoy...this is gonna be a looong chappie...so brace yourselves...here we gooo...**

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George and Lee were sitting on the couch when he staggered in the common room, and jumped up toward him as soon as they saw him.

"Did anyone spot you?" George asked, his face anxious.

"Did you get it, mate?" Lee asked eagerly.

Fred let out a breath he realized he'd been holding, and took out the bottle containing centaur's tail hair, and immediately, Lee let out a triumphant yell, and George grinned at him.

"Escaped Snape by a hair's-breadth," he breathed out, grinning.

"Crikey," George said.

"Detonator was a life saver, George," Fred said.

"We'll make dozens of it now, helped us loads of times, it did," George said.

"Well then, lets hurry, I can't wait to add this thing to the Ageing Potion," Lee said, literally bouncing with excitement.

They made their way to their dorm, and Fred asked on the way, "Was Filch still out cold when you went in to his office?"

"Yep, he and his ugly cat, both were out for the count," George said.

"They'll stay like that for hours, I told you," Lee said.

They added the tail hair to the potion, and, as per the book, if all went well, the ageing potion should be ready after three days, which was the time taken by the potion to turn into Permanent Ageing Potion. They were required to take one drop of the said potion to age exactly seventeen years; any less, then the Ageing Potion will not take its effect, any more, they'd age forward into middle-age permanently.

That night, Fred was reluctant to sleep with his twin after the things that happened between them, but George, being the git that he was, forcibly made him sleep with him, whispering in his alluring, soft tones the words which made Fred's heart thaw, and Fred fell into a deep slumber, nuzzled against his twin's chest, enveloped in his warmth, having been deprived of sleep last night; his sleep only broken when his twin gripped him tight and murmured in his sleep.

The rest of the days passed without great incidents, unless you counted Angelina, who seemed to forgive and forget the fact that Fred did not kiss her back, and asked Fred if he wanted to go with her to Hogsmeade, only to be refused point blank. He did not wish to hoodwink her, and say yes to please her, because, try as he might to deny it, he was in love with his twin; but that made Angelina's eyes shine with tears of hurt, which made his heart, already wounded because of his twin, bleed more. He did not want anyone to cry over him, for Merlin's sake.

And, also the fact that Ludo Bagman was not replying to their letter added to the woes burdening his fucked up life. One night, he felt so scared, and sick of his pains, so tired and sick of everything, that he left all pretences and cried hard into his twin's neck.

Next day, Fred and George decided that it was high time that they sent him another letter reminding him that he paid them off with Leprechaun gold.

They shirked Lee in the evening, telling him that they'd join him later, and sat down on the couch, hidden away in a corner of the common room, with their carroty heads together, and quills out, poring over a piece of parchment. Across them, Ron and Harry were engrossed in some class assignment, scribbling away on parchments, and occasionally murmuring.

"'Kay, lets write, 'dear Mr. Bagman, we have formerly notified you the fact that you, unintentionally by all means, have paid us off with Leprechaun gold for the bet we had placed in the Quidditch World Cup," George murmured, scrawling away in his tangled handwriting.

"And," Fred placed his hand near his twin's, and jotted down in his equally untidy writing, "had won, and, are rightfully entitled to demand our pay from you,"

"Mhm, so...we hope that..um," George dithered.

"We hope that you would meet us in person and clear up the muddle, and pay us with real galleons, or else we will be obligated to take this matter to the Ministry, informing them of the fraudulent way adopted by you-" he scribbled furiously, his writing getting more illegible.

George shook his head at Fred, and scratched out with his quill the last line he had written, and murmured softly, "No, that sounds like we're accusing him. Got to be careful,"

Then George looked up from the parchment, and then whispered, his lips inches away from his ear, "Freddie, Harry's looking at us suspiciously. I think he's heard us,"

"Oh bloody hell, we don't want him to speak about this to Ron; that nosy git might blab to mom or someone equally terrifying. Lets go to our dorm. We'll write fair in another parchment after Lee conks out and visit the owlry at night," Fred said, and they got up, rolled up the parchment, said their goodnights to Harry and Ron, and set out to their dorm.

"Oh, hey guys, what's up with you guys these days, ditching me more than usual," Lee blabbered while scribbling rapidly on a parchment, hunched over in his bed. He still had to complete fifteen more theory of Strengthening Potion writing-punishment imposed on him by Snape.

"Oh, just chatting up with Angelina, you know. Its really peaceful without you butting in calling me a bozo every damn second while we chat," Fred said, his wicked grin identical to his twin.

"One day, I will marry her, I _will_, at least to bring you down," Lee said wrathfully, scribbling on his parchment more vigorously.

* * *

Later that night, after Lee fell asleep on the parchments he'd been writing on, Fred climbed up on his twin's bed, and they wrote a fair letter to Ludo Bagman in the wand-light.

They made their way to the owlry at night to post the letter. "We're so damn hard-up, we can't even afford an owl," Fred said scathingly, pitying themselves.

Fred was talking non-stop, fed up with his life, "And that Ludo bastard had to con us, dupe us of the modest sum we'd saved up...I hope we'd get into the tournament, I'll jump into a fire for some galleons in our present condition, Georgie..."

He did not stop talking even as they entered their dorm room, "We're so ill-fated...of all the people he had to con, he conned us, who don't even own an owl for fuck's sake,"

Fred said as they climbed on his twin's bed, "Georgie, I'm really doubtful of this Ludo's 'unintentional slip-up' as you put it. He's conning us, Georgie, all the money that we saved for our joke shop...oh Merlin..."

George placed a hand on his mouth to shut him up, and then caressed his face, giving him a look as tender as a rose, and Fred felt his worries slowly slip away.

He pushed him gently down on his bed, lying down with him, and, as every night, hugged him close, his familiar vanilla scent which he'd been breathing in like oxygen since he could remember his own name, comforting him; and he whispered softly into his hair, "Sleep, Freddie, dear, sleep, we'll face it all, as one...we're one, always..." and he started humming a soft lullaby, stroking his back, lulling him to sleep.

* * *

Next day, not surprisingly, they did not receive any reply from Bagman. Hogwarts was priming itself for the welcoming of the participant schools, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Filch was being extra-grumpy, yelling at them all, and when he saw Fred and George, gave them a particularly nasty look, and Fred thought what look he might give them if he found out that they were the one's behind knocking him out few days ago.

Though the air in Hogwarts was quivering with excitement, and they would have been the most noticeable people adding to the celebratory mood; this time, they were subdued, Bagman-issue weighing down on them hard. He was positively ignoring them, avoiding meeting them in person.

"Its a bummer, all right," George gloomily said to him as they were seated in the Gryffindor table for breakfast. "But if he won't talk to us in person, we'll stuff another letter in his hands. He can't avoid us forever,"

Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way toward them. "Who's avoiding you?" Ron asked, sitting next to Fred.

"Wish you would," Fred was irritated at his interruption.

"What's a bummer?" Ron ignored him and asked George instead.

"Having a nosy git like you for a brother," George said.

"You two got any ideas on the Triwizard Tournament yet?" Harry asked them, "Thought anymore about trying to enter?"

"Well, we've been working on Ageing Potion. Hope it'll turn out to be well," George replied.

The day passed quickly, and the evening arrived, and they all lined up in front of the castle, awaiting the participants. It was a cold, clear evening, dusk was falling and a pale, transparent looking moon was already shining over the Forbidden Forest.

As they waited with bated breaths, a gigantic carriage drawn by golden horses arrived, skimming over the forbidden forests. It touched down on the ground in front of them, and a huge woman emerged from it.

"Oooooh! Bet she's Hagrid's soul mate!" Lee hissed beside them.

After exchanging pleasantries with 'Dumbly-dorr', and giving instructions in a heavy French accent to feed her gigantic horses, she beckoned her students, all dressed in fine satin and shivering, to follow her inside Hogwarts.

The air steadily grew nippy as the sky darkened to a purple hue, and Fred started to feel cold, and his twin, as if he sensed it, reached out and took his hand in his, and huddled closer to him, and they waited for the Durmstrang party to arrive.

They heard weird gurgling and sucking noises after a few moments.

"The lake!" Lee yelled, pointing down the top of the lawns towards the black lake, "Look at the lake!"

A whirlpool appeared in the very middle of the lake, and then a gigantic ship slowly rose out of the waters, gleaming in the moonlight. Few moments later, it was anchored, its plank lowered, and people began getting off it, all wearing thick fur coats.

A tall, thin man with a goatee was leading the students, and he made a small talk with Dumbledore, his voice oily. He then beckoned one of his students, his smarmy voice dripping with concern for that student, and as the student stepped forward, they saw that it was none other than Victor Krum, the celebrated Bulgarian seeker.

Lee was literally jumping with wild thrill when he saw him. "Ooooh! Spotted dick! Its Krum!"

They made their way inside the Entrance Hall and into the Great Hall behind the Durmstrang party. "Oh! Krum! Wish I had a quill! Krum! Autograph!" Lee was yelling.

"Dickhead, he's just a friggin Quidditch player, not some demigod," Fred said, a bit embarrassed by Lee's antics.

They took their seats at the Gryffindor table for the welcoming feast. The Beauxbatons were seated at the Ravenclaw table and the Durmstrangs settled themselves at the Slytherin table.

Few moments later, the Hogwarts staff arrived; taking their seats at the top table, and then Dumbledore settled himself, flanked by Madame Maxime and Karkaroff.

He gave a short speech, saying that the tournament will officially open at the end of the feast; and then their plates were filled with a wide variety of dishes, richer than their normal dinner, with a lot of foreign dishes too.

"Can't wait for the tournament to start," George said, poking his spoon at a fish, garnished with some yellow liquid, "What the hell's this," he then said, looking at the dish curiously.

Alicia looked up at George, smiling sweetly, "Its Bourride, Fred, no, George; try it, tastes like heaven," she said, and Fred had a nagging doubt that she looked at George with a tad too adoring eyes, and he felt like punching her eyes just like that.

Lee was wolfing down everything he could get his hands on without caring what it was. "Ow..whw you care wha's it...jus..scarf iw down.." he mumbled with a bit of every dish in his mouth.

And then, a blonde girl from the Beauxbatons came up to their table, and asked something to Ron, and Ron was goggling at her like she was some goddess, and Fred noticed that Lee stopped chomping to ogle at her, and almost every boy in the Great Hall looked at her, drooling. He quickly looked at George to watch his expression, but he was innocently munching on his Bourride, looking at the girl with mild curiosity.

The girl marched away haughtily to her table, and Lee whispered, eyes glazed over, "Man, that chick was one sexy hott babe. I want her in my bed right now and start forcing _up and down_ my -"

"Shut up, dipshit!" Fred and George said together, and all the girls grinned approvingly at them.

Later, they saw Bartemius Crouch and _Ludo Bagman_ entering the Great Hall, and taking their seats at the top table, and Fred literally lurched forward to grab hold of him; but his twin gripped his arm, and calmed him down. "Fred, relax; someone might observe you-"

"I don't care, just - we can tell him now, George-"

"Calm down, he's in the thick of things now, Fred,"

"Let me introduce you all to Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch," Dumbledore stood up and began, and there was a polite applause, while Fred and George did not join in to applaud. Dumbledore began a speech praising them both, and informed that they'll be in the panel judging the champions' efforts, and their ears pricked up at the word 'champion'.

"The bastard will be judging-"Fred said.

And then, Dumbledore ordered Filch to bring in the Goblet of Fire, and they felt a thrill of excitement, their hands unknowingly linking and holding on tight.

Dumbledore began a long speech explaining them the rules of the tournament, "...champions will be tested in different ways, their magical prowess...their daring...their ability to cope with danger,"

At his last words, there was an absolute silence in the Great Hall, and George gripped his hand tighter.

He then went on to say that they have 24 hours to enter their names, and the next night, Halloween, the goblet will select three worthy students each representing their schools.

"Oh, can't wait to enter our names, Freddie..." George whispered, tapping his feet in excitement.

Finally, he said that no underage wizard or witch can enter their names, he'll draw an age-line to ensure that, and that once they get selected, there is no turning back, the champions being bound with a magical contract.

"An Age Line!" Fred said, waving the word away like a cloud of midges, as they all made their way to their common room, "That should surely be fooled by our Ageing Potion. And once your name's in the goblet, you're laughing...it can't tell whether you're seventeen or not!"

"But I don't think anyone under seventeen will stand a chance," said Hermione, "we just haven't learned enough."

_But we are in sixth year, silly girl; along with the seventeen year olds. We just need to age seven months forward..._ Fred thought, but chose not to start a row with Hermione, where you're sure to be defeated in the war of words.

He was sure his Georgie too might have thought the same thing, because he ignored Hermione completely and spoke to Harry, "Speak for yourself. You'll try and get in, won't you Harry?"

But Harry had a faraway look, green eyes lost in thought.

As they all moved along the hallway, Karkaroff was guiding his students out the door toward their ship. They all stopped short to allow them to pass through the door, and Karkaroff suddenly spotted Harry, and did a double take. The Durmstrang students too were gazing at Harry in awe, looking pointedly at his scar.

And then, Moody growled from behind them, "Yeah, that's Harry Potter,"

And Fred was surprised to see that Karkaroff was scared shit when he saw Moody. "You!" he exclaimed.

"Me, and unless you've got anything to say to Potter, Karkaroff, you might want to move. You're blocking the doorway," Moody growled with a look of extreme dislike for Karkaroff.

Karkaroff wordlessly moved away with his students.

"Looked kinda freaked out when he saw Moody, that goatee guy did," Lee observed.

* * *

Fred, as usual, was the one who woke up first the next day, and the moment he opened his eyes, a rush of excitement flooded his veins as he realized that the d-day has arrived when they'll be entering their names.

He looked at George, and he was sleeping peacefully, his arms twined with his own as usual, weighing down on his side, his hand buried in his hair. His twin was quiet when he slept, unlike Lee, whose snores can be heard from a mile away. Well, quiet except when he screams his name in his nightmares.

"Georgie..." Fred whispered in his ear.

"Mmm..." George moaned quietly, frowning slightly. Fred's heart quivered when he saw just how damn gorgeous he looked when he pouted his pink lips a bit like that, or when he puckered his auburn brow, or when he let in a small shuddered breath through his nose, or the way his long ginger hair was spilled out on the pillow.

"Wakey wakey..." he whispered, swept away with love for his beautiful twin.

His eyes opened a bit, and he could see slits of dreamy blue. "Wha'sit," he slurred.

Fred couldn't help but kiss him lightly on his smooth, soft cheek, and that seemed to rouse him, his blue eyes opening fully. Fred quickly drew away from him before he'd start losing his wits.

"Today's the big day, Georgie..." he said, disentangling himself from his twin. He threw open the curtain and got out of bed.

The sun cast a weak watery yellow light inside the dorm. Lee was snoring loudly, and Fred slapped him hard on his back, and he got up with a yell, "Curse you fucker!"

"Winch up your lazy ass, dung brains," Fred said as he and George made their way to the bathroom.

Half an hour later, Fred, George and Lee were huddled together around a desk in their dorm, looking at the crimson Permanent Ageing Potion in the vial, trembling with excitement. Fred poured the contents into three droppers, and they all took one. They exchanged determined looks, and Fred said, "On the count of three...one, two, three...bottoms up!"

They took a good look at each other after they took the potion, looking for any perceptible changes in their appearance.

"Um, did it take any effect..." Lee asked sceptically.

"We've aged only a few months; what visible changes will you have in a few months..." George said firmly.

"Yep...that's right..." Fred said, hoping with every ounce of his life that that might be it.

They rushed to the Great Hall, clutching their names on slips of parchment, anticipation building up with each step. The Great Hall was filled with students having their breakfast. They saw Harry, Ron and Hermione seated at the Gryffindor table, looking at them interestedly.

"Done it, just taken it," Fred whispered triumphantly to them.

"What?" Ron asked.

"The Ageing Potion, dung brains," Fred said.

"One drop each," said George, rubbing his hands together with glee, "We only need to be a few months older."

"We're going to split the thousand galleons between the three of us if one of us wins," said Lee, grinning broadly.

"I'm not sure this is going to work, you know," said Hermione warningly, "I'm sure Dumbledore will have thought of this,"

Fred, George and Lee ignored her.

"Ready?" Fred said, taking a huge breath, heart thudding with excitement, "C'mon then...I'll go first..."

He strode confidently to the Goblet of Fire placed on a stool at the centre of the Great Hall, the golden age line circling around it. He was aware of hundreds of eyes upon him, looking in wonder.

_Please please let us pass through this...it means a lot to me and Georgie...don't want to slip the chance to earn some galleons in our flat broke state..._ he thought as he strode on.

He paused when he neared the edge of the Age Line, and looked at the slip of parchment in his hand '_Fredrick Weasley – Hogwarts'_ was scrawled across it in his untidy writing. He took a deep breath, and took a step inside the Age Line.

One second...

Two seconds...

Three seconds...

Four seconds...

Five, six, seven, eight, nine...nothing happened...nothing sizzled, or roared, or exploded...

YES! He triumphantly reached over and put his name inside the glowing Goblet.

He heard George and Lee shout with joy, and they dashed in, and put their names inside the Goblet, and they stepped out the Age Line, screaming with joy, and hugged each other like billy-o. Fred couldn't hear the astonished murmurs from other houses, or the elated yells from the Gryffindor table. He could only hear his twin yelling with joy right into his ear, and feel the tangled arms of George and Lee around his shoulder, pushing him back and forth as they hugged madly.

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**Review PLEASE!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Just to clear up what happened: You see they got accepted because unlike in HP4, where they just take an 'Ageing Potion', in my fic, they took the 'Permanent Ageing Potion'. I believe that a simple Ageing Potion's effects wear off after some time, so they won't be able to cheat the age-line with it, but in case of a 'Permanent Ageing Potion', they turn seventeen lastingly, so the age line did not detect them as under-age... Erm...makes any sense? :D**

**Whatever it is...I felt that it was too bad they did not get a chance in the book, but fanfics are where you can make your dreams come true..haha..**

**Also, if you guys have noticed, they NEVER ridicule each other; but don't think twice before ridiculing others. I like to portray them that way, sweet and gentle with each other, but that doesn't mean they're uncaring to others!**

**So, I'll stop my rambling, I can hear you dearies yawning...lets goooo...**

* * *

The yells and cheering subsided, and they broke away from their group hug to see Albus Dumbledore enter the Great Hall, looking at them with mild amusement. "You have not yet turned seventeen if I am not mistaken, have you?"

"Er, no.." Fred said.

"Hmm," he came near them, examining the age line carefully with his bright blue eyes, "You have tricked the age-line, with a Permanent Ageing Potion, I daresay," he looked at them curiously.

"Er, yeah..." George said.

"Very ingenious indeed, not many know about it. I can imagine the careful planning and the pains you might have taken to concoct it," he said, looking at them with twinkling blue eyes, and Fred could have sworn that there was a very small smile playing on his lips.

"Ms. Fawcett, of Ravenclaw and Mr. Summers, of Hufflepuff decided to age themselves a bit too, but they are being tended to by Madam Pomfrey after sprouting beards, that is how the age-line was supposed to react. " He kept looking at them with penetrating blue eyes, and then said, "Ah, you are in sixth year, just a few months left to turn seventeen, and using the Permanent Ageing Potion did the trick. Very well, then, let's all wait for the outcomes this evening," his eyes twinkled again, and he strode out the hall with a whoosh of his flamboyant robes.

The Gryffindors started yelling again, and Ron ran towards them and literally fell on them hugging, "I knew you two had brains, I knew one day it'll reveal itself!" he said, his warm brown eyes alight with joy.

"Hey, these bozos wouldn't have had any clue on what to do without me," Lee chimed in, feigning hurt.

"Yeah, you three I mean," Ron quickly corrected himself.

Hermione gave them a look of half admiration and half disapproval, "People have died, though, you three really shouldn't have entered your names; but, yeah, Permanent Ageing Potion, why didn't I think of it before," she said, torn between whether to smile or to frown.

"Where's the fun without some risks, Hermione, and besides, that was ages ago, the precautionary measures have improved since then," Fred said as they seated themselves for the breakfast.

"Yeah, Hermione, when will you stop being so paranoid? You should really be friends with Moody," Harry said, grinning, "Wow, that was really brilliant," he said, green eyes sparkling with admiration.

"I'll send mum and dad an owl right after breakfast!" Ginny piped in joyfully.

"Dunno how mum will react, though," Ron said, his expression thoughtful as he finished off his bacon, "Dad'll surely be delighted, though," he said.

"Mum will most probably send you two a howler instead of congratulations," Ginny said.

"Ah, no worries...let her send us hundreds of howlers," George said airily as he digged in to eggs and bacons, "We got past the age-line 'ingeniously' as Dumbledore put it, that's all that matters," and George stuffed bacon into his mouth.

They saw Angelina getting up and striding quickly to the Goblet, and she put her name in it too. She turned, and her gaze fleetingly fell on Fred, but she quickly looked away. Fred saw that she still looked wistful whenever her gaze fell on him, and he suddenly felt scared. _Is that girl in love with me or something...? _He thought, shuddering, because if that was the case, he could never return her feelings.

"Whoa, Angelina, did you too take Permanent Ageing Potion like us," Lee looked at her admiringly.

"No, I had my birthday last week," she said.

"Man, I hope we both would get selected, Angelina...imagine us facing the dangers together, hand in hand," Lee said with a faraway look, and George kicked his leg under the table. "Ow!" Lee said.

Angelina ignored Lee and turned to her group of friends.

Later, they saw Beauxbatons students entering with Madam Maxime and putting their names one by one into the goblet. The stunning blonde girl too put in her name.

"Man, that chick's participating too, gosh...I wanna get selected so bad if she'd get selected," Lee said.

"D'you know who else put their names in?" Fred asked, looking around.

"Well, there are rumours that Warrington put his name this morning, and Diggory put his too, and all the Durmstrang lot put theirs last night while everyone where asleep," Seamus said.

"Ugh, Warrington," Fred and George said together. "What did he think, stupid gormless tosser, that he'd get selected? We don't want a Slytherin champion," Fred said with disgust. Warrington was in the Slytherin Quidditch team, who always played foul, and joined Malfoy in making fun of their family.

"And pretty boy Cedric! Didn't expect him to enter his name, thought he might not want to maim his good looks," George said, dislike evident in his tone for him, since they lost the match against Hufflepuff last year because of him.

They were the least attentive in their classes that day because of their anticipation for the selection of champions that evening. Charms, the class in which they were usually praised for their brains by Prof. Flitwick, was spent casting inefficient Caterwauling charm by them both, causing them to sing carols instead of letting out high pitched shrieks. Herbology was worse, the polyion plant's sharp teeth sunk into George's hand as they speculated on the selections, and they had to rush to Madam Pomfrey before the rashes caused by its bite got worse.

Finally, the last class, Divination, where they jotted down 'saw fog' in observations column after crystal gazing, got over, and they hastily made their way from the North Tower to the entrance hall, which was already crowded, looking chaotic because of the hotchpotch of blue robes of students of Beauxbatons, maroon of Durmstrang and black of Hogwarts.

Fred's heart was pounding with excitement, and he could almost hear his twin's heart thudding with thrill too. He looked over at his twin; his blue eyes were dancing, sparkling in the bright golden light of the torches in the entrance hall; and then their eyes met, and his twin grinned and took his hand in his, pressing them tight. "Let's hope for the best," he whispered in his ear.

They entered the Great Hall. The Goblet was moved from the centre; now it stood in front of the teacher's table. They took their seats at the Gryffindor table. Few moments later, Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny took their seats around them, all of them chattering excitedly. They did not pay any attention to the superb dishes served in the feast; hoping that it would just vanish soon, waiting for the big moment of announcement of the champion's names.

"Oh I just hope its one of you!" Ron said, "Imagine, if you'd win...thousand galleons, blimey," Ron went starry-eyed.

"Nah, six hundred and sixty six galleons, twenty sickles and ten knuts, we'll be dividing the prize money among the three of us," George said, and Lee beamed.

"Just imagine the fame and respect we'd gain if you'd win!" Ron said.

Finally, the dishes disappeared, and there was a sharp rise in the excited murmurings in the Great Hall, which died down as soon as Dumbledore stood up, and made his way to the Goblet glowing bluish-white.

Madam Maxime and Karkaroff looked as tense as the students, Ludo Bagman stood winking and beaming at the students, and when he saw Fred and George, quickly diverted his sight away from them; Bartemius Crouch looked bored stiff.

Dumbledore informed them that there was one minute left for the Goblet to announce the name, and after their names are called out, they were requested to come up to the top table and walk into the chamber behind the table.

And then he took out his wand and extinguished all the candles in the Great Hall, and they were plunged into absolute darkness, except for the dim glow of the carved pumpkins, and the bright bluish white glow of the Goblet, which sharply contrasted in the darkness, hurting their eyes.

"Any second," Lee whispered, his voice trembling with excitement. George's hand found its way to Fred's in the darkness, and he gripped his hand tight, and sidled closer to him. Fred stopped breathing.

The Goblet suddenly turned red hot, and sparks began to fly from it, and then a huge tongue of flame leapt out of it, along with a singed parchment. Everyone gasped as one. Dumbledore caught the parchment, and read out, "The champion for Durmstrang will be...Viktor Krum!"

There was a wild round of applause, and Viktor slouched toward the top table into the chamber.

The Goblet turned red once more, and the second parchment shot out of it like a rocket. Dumbledore took hold of it and read, "The champion for Beauxbatons will be...Fleur Delacour!" It was the stunning blonde girl, and she marched forward regally, silvery blonde hair catching wind. "Godric's balls! Its her! Oh I wanna get selected," Lee said excitedly.

And then, there was dead silence in the Great Hall. Fred felt his insides squirm violently, his heart stopped beating, and it felt as though his lungs did not need any oxygen anymore. He instinctively turned to his twin and wrapped his arms around his waist, forgetting all embarrassment in his wild anticipation, and he could feel his twin's nails digging into the small of his back.

The air was so dense with excitement that you could almost feel it pulsate. The Hogwarts Champion next...

The Goblet turned red hot for the third time,

George's nails were scratching the nape of his neck now,

A singed parchment shot out of the Goblet for the third time,

He couldn't feel the pain as George's nails sunk in his skin,

Dumbledore caught the fluttering piece of parchment mid-air,

"Freddiee..." George's trembling whisper roared inside his head...

"The Hogwarts Champion is..."

* * *

**Please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'll be quoting words and dialogues from GoF, but they'll be sort of modified because, you know who, has been selected. Really... *rolls eyes at myself*, 'you know who', I'm so stupid *slaps myself*, as if you guys didn't notice who it is, its the first line of this chapter...hahaha :D**

**Disclaimer: Words and dialogues mentioned belong to ****_J.K. Rowling_**

**Thank you guys who review! Your reviews are fantastic! They make me hop and skip with joy! Enjoy! This is a looooong chappie...**

* * *

"Fredrick Weasley!"

Numb.

That was what he felt.

Numb.

He became blind, and deaf, and dumb, and numb.

And then, rapidly, something intense and vibrant rushed through every nerve in his body, his head felt empty; and then, he could hear his twin screaming into his ear, then became aware of the fact that he was squeezing him tight, so tight that he was suffocating, and then he could hear the deafening roars all around him.

Gryffindors were screaming as though he had just defeated Lord Voldemort.

Slowly, as though in a trance, he pulled away from George. He could see that they were all cheering and yelling like nuts. Lee had actually gone completely berserk, Ron was grinning and cheering maniacally, and George had a big, elated grin, and gave him an encouraging push, "Go on, Fred!" he nodded toward the top table.

He got to his feet, grinning broadly; a wild sense of euphoria building up with each step as he strode on confidently toward the top table, the yells, mostly of Gryffindors, ringing in his ears. Prof. McGonagall, Gryffindor head, had a look which was a cross between disapproval and pride, Dumbledore looked on benignly, his eyes twinkling quietly, Madam Maxime, unaware of the fact that he had tricked the age-line, applauded politely, while Karkaroff remained indifferent. Ludo Bagman smiled at him innocently.

He entered a small chamber, which had portraits of wizened witches and wizards lined along the wall and a cheery fire burning in the fireplace. Krum was standing hunched-up near a mantelpiece, deep in thought, while Fleur stood near the fireplace, and looked over at him as he walked in. "You are in which an-, I mean, year?" she asked curiously.

"Sixth, and you?" he asked politely.

"Ze seventh, your name?" she asked, throwing back her sheet of silvery blonde hair.

"Fred Weasley," he extended his hand forward politely, and she took it delicately, "You must 'ave 'eard my name," she gave a dazzling smile. Fred nodded, giving a quick smile.

He looked over at Krum, but he was pointedly staring at the floor, avoiding looking at them.

Just a few moments later, the door creaked open, and Harry entered. His face was deathly pale, his green eyes wide in shock; he looked almost scared to death.

_What's wrong with him... _Fred's protective brotherly feelings rose for him.

"What is it? Do zey want us back in ze Hall?" Fleur asked importantly.

Then, Ludo Bagman burst in, looking flushed and excited, "Extraordinary!" he grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him forward, "Gentlemen, lady; may I introduce, incredible though it may seem, the _fourth_ Triwizard Champion?"

"What!" Fred exclaimed loudly, his anger on seeing Bagman vanishing at the shocking news, his mouth open in surprise, the corners of his lips tugging up into an open-mouthed grin, "You're joking!" he said loudly.

"Joking?! No, no, not at all! Harry's name just came out of the Goblet of Fire!"

"Wow! Harry, why didn't you let us know you wanted to enter your name? We would've gladly helped you! Why did you act so covertly?" Fred was thrilled to bits that a Gryffindor, that too _Harry_, who was as good as his brother, will be in the tournament with him. His mind rapidly began calculating the immense advantage they would be having over the other two champions in that case.

But Harry simply stood, dazed and too shocked to speak.

Krum was frowning at Harry, and Fleur looked agitated, "But zair 'as to be a mistake! 'E is too young to compete!"

Ludo Bagman appeared as thrilled as Fred, "Well, there's no backing away now! It's down in the rules. Harry will have to do the best he ca-"

Then, a large group of important people flocked in to the chamber; Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, Karkaroff, Madam Maxime and Percy's boss, Mr. Crouch.

Dumbledore's eyes swept to Harry as soon as he entered. Fleur stomped away to Madam Maxime, saying, "Madam Maxime! Zey are saying zat zis little boy will compete also!"

"What is ze meaning of zis, Dumbly-dorr? Two 'Ogwarts champions?! Zis is very unjust!" Madam Maxime said, appearing scandalized, resting her huge hand on Fleur's shoulder.

Karkaroff had a steely smile, his blue eyes cold as ice, "Well, Dumbledore, I'd myself like to know. Two champions? Haven't you read the rules carefully enough?"

Snape looked at Fred, smirking vindictively, "Don't go blaming Dumbledore," he said softly, "The Gryffindors have a nasty tendency to break rules. You can ask Weasley here; he and his twin are extremely gifted in breaking rules, not unlike Potter. He managed to get chosen in spite of being underage. I'm sure they might have teamed up and-"

"This is ludicrous! Two Hogwarts champions, _both_ of them underage on top of that! Well, I'm thinking of withdrawing from this stupid tournament. This is too much to digest, Dumbledore!" Karkaroff said, abandoning his steely smile. His face was now vicious.

"Dumbly-dorr! 'Ow can you act so partial! We would 'ave brought along a wider selection of candidates! We 'ave so many talented students under seventeen! Zis is mad!" Madam Maxime was livid, and Fleur discarded her friendly manners and looked at Fred spitefully.

Dumbledore raised a hand to stop them all, "Fredrick is a sixth year, studying the same programme as the seventeen year olds. He only had a few months left to age seventeen, which he solved by using the Permanent Ageing Potion. Not many know, but the potion can only be used by those who wish to age themselves either a few months forward or reach old age, permanently, and Fredrick is now seventeen, physically as well as mentally, which makes him qualified to participate, and the Goblet always chooses the most worthy candidate. What I'm troubled about right now is not Fredrick, but Harry, and as you must know, Severus, Harry couldn't have made use of the Permanent Ageing Potion, since he needs to age three years forward, which cannot be achieved by the use of Permanent Ageing Potion," Dumbledore's eyes were penetrating into Harry, "Did you put your name into the Goblet, Harry?" he asked gently.

"No," Harry said earnestly.

"Did you ask an older student to put your name for you?" he asked, ignoring Snape's exasperated snort.

"No!" Harry denied vehemently.

"Ah, 'e is lying of course!" Madam Maxime said.

"Surely he couldn't have crossed the age-line! I'm sure we're all agreed on that-" McGonagall began.

"You are supporting zem because zey are students of your 'ouse! Dumbly-dorr must 'ave made a mistake with ze age-line! Madam Maxime said.

"I insist upon resubmitting the names of my students! You will set up the Goblet of Fire once more, without the age-line. We will bring in more students from our schools, the talented students whom we left behind because they are under-age!" Karkaroff said.

Bagman turned his round, boyish face to him and said, "Ah, but Karkaroff, it doesn't work that way. The Goblet won't reignite until the start of the next tournament-"

"- In which Durmstrang will most certainly not be participating! After all our meetings and negotiations and settlements, I did not expect this! I have half a mind to leave this now!" Karkaroff exploded.

"Empty threat, Karkaroff," Moody growled as he entered the chamber, "You know full well that there is no turning back now. Binding magical contract...convenient, eh?"

"What do you mean by 'convenient'?" Karkaroff said.

Moody growled, "It would have taken a strong Confundus Charm to bamboozle that Goblet into forgetting that only three students can participate in the tournament. Potter's name might have been entered under the name of a fourth school by someone who-"

"- someone 'oo wished to give 'Ogwarts two bites at ze apple!" Madam Maxime said.

"- someone who wished to enter Potter into this tournament knowing that he can't back away once he is selected, with the intent to cause him serious harm unavoidable in this tournament, perhaps even death!" Moody shot back.

"Well, you seemed to have given this a lot of thought, Moody," Karkaroff said coldly, "Very inventive theory indeed! But we all know how your mind works! You do not get out of your bed and set your foot on the floor in the morning unless you make sure that the floor is not jinxed by someone plotting your death!"

Moody gave him an ugly look, "Its my job to think the way Dark wizards do, Karkaroff, as you ought to remember-"

"Alastor!" Dumbledore stopped him sternly, "How this situation arose, we do not know. It seems to me that there is no other way than accepting it. Both Fredrick and Harry will have to compete,"

"Ah, but Dumbly-dorr-" Madam Maxime began.

"My dear Madam Maxime, if you have an alternative, I would be delighted to hear it," Dumbledore said.

But she merely glared as Dumbledore waited for her to speak.

Bagman rubbed his hands together excitedly, smiling at everyone, "Well, shall we crack on, then? Got to give our champions their instructions, haven't we? Barty, want to do the honours?"

Mr. Crouch seemed to come out of a deep reverie. He looked weary and ill, "Yes, the first task will test your daring, so we are not telling you what it is. Courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a wizard. The first task is on November twenty fourth, and will take place in front of the other students and the panel of judges. You are not allowed to seek or accept help from any professor, and will be facing the task armed with your wands only. Due to the demanding and time-consuming nature of the tournament, you are exempted from the end of the year tests." He finished off mechanically.

"I think that is all, then, Albus," Crouch turned to Dumbledore.

"Yes, I think so," Dumbledore looked at Crouch with concern, "Are you sure you wouldn't wish to stay at Hogwarts tonight, Barty?"

"No, I must rush to the Ministry. Its been very hectic. I've left young Weatherby in charge...very enthusiastic...a little overenthusiastic if truth be told," Crouch said.

Fred chuckled uncontrollably before he could stop himself. He pressed his lips together to stop himself from bursting out laughing.

Crouch turned to look at him curiously, and Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with mirth as he said, "Ah, young Weatherby is the older brother of this young man here, Fredrick,"

"Oh, I see," Crouch said in a flat tone.

As they all left the chamber, Fred thought of cornering Ludo Bagman as he talked on with Crouch, but he couldn't do so without rousing the suspicion of Dumbledore and Harry.

Dumbledore turned to look at Fred and Harry, smiling at them both, "Harry, Fredrick, I suggest you go up to bed. I'm sure the Gryffindors must be waiting to celebrate with you. It would be a shame to deprive them of this excellent opportunity to make a great deal of mess and noise," he said.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Fred turned to Harry and bombarded him with questions, "Harry! This is just bloody brilliant! 'Course I didn't believe a word you said in there. How the hell did you get past the age-line?! You've surpassed us in trickery! Did you use some other kind of Ageing Potion? But you still look fourteen. How the hell did you-"

"Look, Fred, I did not enter my name! I myself don't understand how the bloody hell this happened!" Harry said, staring up at him, his voice earnest.

"But, honestly, Harry, you're saying that someone put your name in without your knowledge? What kind of rat arsed twit would do that!"

"That's exactly what I'm thinking, Fred. Maybe someone who-"

"Well, you're a luminary, so maybe some secret admirer who wished to give you a treat," Fred said, casually ribbing him.

"Nah, Fred. I don't think someone did this with a good intention. You do know how dangerous Triwizard tasks are...maybe someone who wishes me ill," Harry said with a slightly worried look.

"Come on, Harry, don't tell me you believe what that Mad-Eye said. He is _mad_, Harry...its in his name, see... he isn't called '_Mad_'-Eye just like that...blimey, I would've been jumping with joy if I were in your place..."

"But, Fred, I'm in fourth year! I don't know half the spells you guys know! What the bloody hell am I going to do in the tasks!" he said, growing more paranoid by the second.

Fred gave him a squeeze on his shoulder, "Git," he muttered, shaking his head, "I'm there with you in the tournament, right? D'you think I'll sit twiddling my thumbs and let you deal with the tasks alone? George and I'll be helping you in every way possible, and you can expect Lee's crackpot advises too at times," he smiled at him.

Harry grinned at him gratefully.

"But, really Harry, you sure you didn't enter your name?" Fred asked, quirking an eyebrow, giving him an extremely suspicious look.

"No, Fred, I did not!" Harry said, exasperated.

"Okay, okay! Blimey, Harry, just think of the edge we'll be having over the other two gits," Fred said, grinning broadly.

Fat Lady was accompanied with her best friend, Violet. Both were looking at them keenly. "Well, well, Vi's just told me everything. Two _underage_ Hogwarts champions...both of them Gryffindors...you don't think we're proud of you two, do you?"

"Shut up! Balderdash!" Fred said, scowling at them.

Fat Lady opened, giving him a deeply critical look, "Vi, that boy is really rude, I tell you..."

Her voice was drowned in the blast of noise that greeted them as soon as the portrait opened. Gryffindor common room was a sight to behold. It was utterly chaotic, with every Gryffindor yelling at the top of their lungs, jumping on the sofas and sliding down the banisters of the spiral staircases, filibuster firecrackers bursting everywhere, red and gold Gryffindor banners strewn all around.

George came hurtling toward them, yelling madly, and fell on them, knocking them backward. They fell down in a heap on the floor, and moments later, more people were falling on top of them, crushing Fred under the sheer weight. He could see Lee yelling, lying on top of George, and Ron's arms were tangled with Lee's and George's, though he couldn't see his face. He could hear Harry somewhere near his left ear, making exasperated noises. George's hair managed to enter his mouth, and he was left spluttering and gasping for air.

"Worge! Gerowff! Wor hair! Urghff!" Fred mumbled with ginger hair stuffed in his mouth.

"I'd get off if Lee would! Get off, Lee!" George yelled.

"Oi! Ron! Move your arse away from my arse!" Lee yelled.

And Ron got off Lee, still yelling madly, and Lee shot up, setting off firecrackers as soon as he straightened, "Woohoo! Gryffindors rock! Triwizard cup's ours!" he ran all around the common room, setting off firecrackers near the first years.

Angelina came tipsying, a tankard of fizzing firewhiskey in her hand, and planted a kiss on George's cheek, "Well, I choose to forget the fact that you hurt me on this occasion," she grinned.

George was flummoxed, "I'm George!" he screamed. Angelina clapped a hand on her mouth, and then grinned and planted a sloppy kiss on Fred's mouth, "There you go, Fred darlin..." and she staggered back, giggling hysterically.

"Barking mad!" Fred and George said together.

Ron was yelling at Harry in enragement, "You! You! You SWINDLER! You ARSEHOLE! Well, eat this," he stuffed crisps into his mouth.

Ginny, Hermione, Seamus, Dean and Neville were setting up a huge banner in the common room. Dean, who was good in drawing, had drawn Harry and Fred clutching the cup, and he could see Fleur in the background with a blackened eye and Krum with a tail curled between his legs.

Ron attacked Fred now, stuffing crisps into his mouth. "I forgave that Harry arsehole because I'm glad that you got selected!" he yelled angrily, and stomped away to get butterbeers and firewhiskeys set on the table near the staircase.

"What the dickens!" they said together, staring at Ron.

George then turned to him, grinning, and hugged him tight, "Oh Freddie I can't believe this!" he whispered into his ear. He then drew back, and grabbed a Gryffindor banner lying on the floor, and draped it over Fred like a cloak, "There, a true Gryffindor lion! Goes well with your hair too!" he grinned impishly, and it struck Fred once again, again for a millionth time, that his twin looked beautiful when he smiled like that.

Harry, appearing harassed, his hair sticking out at odd angles, made his way toward Ron. He was desperately trying to convince Ron that he did not enter his name, and Ron was yelling, utterly red in his face, "SHUT THE FUCK UP! I DON'T BELIEVE A FUCKING WORD YOU'RE SAYING! WELL, YOU'LL GET MORE FAME NOW, WON'T YOU?!"

George swooped down on him, and roared, "Harry! You should've told us you'd entered! Acting like a real slimy, slithery, sneaky Slytherin now are you?!" he draped a banner over him too.

"I DID NOT ENTER MY NAME!" Harry yelled, looking truly hurt and maddened, and hurried up the stairs to his dorm.

George had peanuts in his outstretched hand which he was meaning to offer Harry, and he turned to Fred, taken aback. "What's wrong with that chap?" he asked.

"Well, he is insisting fervidly that he did not enter his name," Fred said as he gripped a tankard of firewhiskey.

"Well, he is bloody lying of course! That bloody git!" Ron said, and he swigged down his butterbeer.

"Well, he is bloody not!" Hermione joined them, throwing Ron an annoyed look, "How thick can you get, Ron? Honestly! You think Harry entered his name? You think he'd keep mum about that if he'd been meaning to enter his name? Call yourself a friend, Ron?"

"Well, he does like his little fame, doesn't he? Might've thought of getting some more fame," Ron muttered.

"You are a complete twit, Ron! Did you see the look on Harry's face when his name was called-"

"Well I don't give a flying fuck-"

And they both started squabbling, pointing fingers and waving tankards at each others' faces. At that moment, Lee came flying out of nowhere, and set off the last firecrackers near them.

"Man, what a day! Never thought I'd live to see this day! And never thought you, bozo, of all people, could make me happy! But well, you've made me damn happy today! And for that you get a gift!" he took a canary cream out of his pocket, and before Fred could stop him, stuffed it into his mouth.

He lunged at Lee after he transfigured back, "Stupid git! Feeding me my own stuff!"

But Lee bolted, flattening the Creevey brothers on his way, who were spraying glitters from their wands.

As the evening wore on, they swigged down Merlin knows how many tankards of firewhiskey, laughing and cracking senseless jokes. George had dug up many more canary creams from his pocket, and hid them among the crisps and crackers and scones, and the common room was littered with yellow and orange feathers as almost everyone got transfigured into canaries every now and then.

"Hey, get stuffed with those fucking creams of yours, you fucking shitfaced moron," Lee slurred, cussing unreservedly after what might have been his hundredth shot of firewhiskey.

The common room was empty save some fifth years who were utterly wasted and were stumbling up the stairs to their dorms. Fred peered at his watch, and his unfocused eyes could make out the time hazily as two in the morning.

"Shut up!" George yelled. "Hey, Lee, mate," George suddenly turned serious, "You've got a fucking bee hive on your bleeding head..." George garbled, pointing at his dreadlocks, and he doubled over with laughter, falling on Fred and resting his head on his lap. "He's got a bee hive, Freddie, right on his head, look," George poked Lee's head, "On his head, fucking empty head," and George laughed hysterically, his eyes squeezed shut and his face flushed pink.

"I'm going to bed, bozos..." Lee mumbled, staggering up from the couch, "My head's throbbing as though fucking firecrackers are bursting in it," he stumbled toward the stairs, muttering to himself, and then waved his fist at the fifth years, yelling, "Stop fannying around you wankers! Get your fucking arses moving!"

Lee's mutters grew fainter as he disappeared upstairs, and they were the only ones left in the common room littered with red banners and yellow feathers and lots of glitter sparkling in the dying light from the smoking fireplace.

Fred was absentmindedly stroking his twin's hair as he lay on his lap, "How the hell did you manage to smuggle so many firewhiskeys, Georgie," he murmured dazedly.

George started laughing again, "Got it from the kitchen in five trips with that twat...Lee..." and then he imitated the house elves' squeaky voice, "Ooooh! Master, master...I'll wash your arse if you want Stubby to, master...!" and he dissolved into fits of laughter.

His twin was clearly foul mouthed when he was drunk. "Anyway," George struggled to get up, and failed each time, falling onto his lap again and again. Fred hooked his arms under his and tried to hoist him up, but that only caused both to slump down on the couch, his twin under him.

"Today was your day, Freddie 'darlin'", he mimicked Angelina's voice as he said 'darlin', and laughed, his blue eyes dreamy as he stared into his eyes. "Oh I'm so fucking happy for you, you bastard," and George gave him a wet, sloppy kiss on his lips.

Fred took a sharp intake of breath, his heart leaping promptly. His twin lay there beneath him, looking like an angel, freckled face flushed with joy and blue eyes sparkling with mirth, and an adorable smile playing on his lips. Fred's heart thumped faster, head spinning as he took in his beautiful face, inches away from his.

Perhaps it was the firewhiskey, or the fraught need; Fred fisted his hands in his twin's ginger hair and crushed his mouth to his forcefully, so damn forcefully that he tasted blood, their shared blood.

He caught him by surprise, that was why his twin responded, that was why his Georgie gripped his collar and pulled him frantically, that was why he opened his mouth, allowing him inside his mouth, allowing him to taste him.

Oh hell, he tasted like vanilla and firewhiskey, such a sweet taste. He allowed his tongue explore every corner of his mouth, his twin's tongue dancing with his.

His head was emptied of blood, his body writhing against his twin's. His twin's hands left his collar, and buried them in his hair, softly massaging his head, and he wrapped his legs around his waist, their hips grinding against each other.

George moaned, a desperate, begging moan, and Fred absorbed his moans, sucking on his mouth as though his life would end if he broke away.

He could hear his heart thudding against his own heart like rapid drumbeats.

Head reeling, they broke away, gasping for air, and Fred wasted no time to dip his head and kiss his neck. He moaned against his neck as he kissed him, and George threw back his head, allowing him to feast on his neck.

"Freddie..." he gasped, "Stop...stop it..." he moaned weakly.

Damn it...damn it...he had to stop...had to stop before he'd totally lose his control and ravish him right here on the couch in the common room.

It took every ounce of his will and self-control to break away from him, his brain already fuddled with firewhiskey. Fred's lips found his twin's ear, and he nipped it, and he could hear George gasp in shock and, perhaps, pleasure...and Fred whispered shakily, "I love you, Georgie..."

There, it was out. He meant the words he whispered with his whole heart, and he didn't give a damn if his twin would remember it or not the next day when his head cleared. This moment would exist, wouldn't it...exist in the infinite stretch of time; this moment, when he tasted his twin for the first time.

* * *

**Please please please review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Warning: Extremely fluffy chapter! :D**

* * *

He was standing on a hill top, facing endless chains of distant, misty, snow-capped mountains, with his twin, his Georgie, his true love, holding his soft, warm hand.

The arctic gale spun around them in chilly ribbons, but the warmth seeping into his palm, the warmth of his love, kept him from freezing.

He looked over at his love, and was dazed by his beauty.

His skin was glowing like the moon, his hair blowing in the wind. Fred thought that his fingers might burn if he touched those flaming red locks of his, the tips of those ruby red locks iridescent like dancing fire.

His love turned his angelic face to him, his blue eyes sparkling with love, his smile a sweet, loving smile, a smile that could melt the hardest glacier.

The wind carried a lilting tune of pipes, a soft, dulcet tune, and the tunes then merged with another sweet tone, his love's sweet words...

"I love you..."

The entrancing tune, carried by the winds, carried from afar, took on a more urgent note, the gale blew stronger than ever, his love's words reverberated a thousand times in his head, overlapping cacophonously with the tune, and their bodies drew closer on their own accord.

Frantic hands searched each other, frantic lips fused in a furious, hot mating.

"I love you...I love you...I love you..." warm breath puffed frenziedly against his lips, as those soft lips pressed over and over against his.

"I love you too, Georgie..." his words were lost in the shrill climax of the tunes, whispered words roaring with the lilt of pipes, windstorm howling eerily.

"Fred..." his love's words were drowned in the discordant tunes.

"Fred..." his voice was a faint echo ricocheting off the far-off mountains.

"Fred, wake up..." he whispered into his ear.

Fred cracked open his eyes to see the man he was dreaming of, sitting on the couch on which Fred lay sprawled.

George's eyes were puffy and tired, his form dishevelled, and his face was shadowed in the deep blue light. It was dead quiet.

George was giving him a look that had bottomless, intense meanings, his gaze steady and stabbing.

Fred became unnerved whenever he looked at him like that, his heart picking up its pace involuntarily, a sick feeling erupting at the pit of his stomach, and his lungs feeling clogged and tight.

"Georgie..." he breathed.

"Well, we fell asleep on the couch..." he said nonchalantly, gazing around.

Fred looked around to find that they were in the deserted, dark common room, littered with the debris of what was unmistakably a full blown celebration; empty tankards, platters half-filled with crisps and scones, glitters, banners, feathers, firecrackers...

Then it all came rushing like remembering a long forgotten dream.

He was selected as the Hogwarts Champion.

Along with Harry.

They celebrated like nuts.

They got drunk.

They ended up together on the couch. He looked at George, and found that there was a small bruise on his lower lip, claret blood caked over his small cut.

Fred felt himself blanching, growing sicker by the second.

"Dreaming of me, were you?" George asked in that quiet tone of his, blue eyes quiet and contemplating.

"I...uhh..yeah.." Fred prayed that his twin couldn't hear his heart leaping in his adam's apple.

"What?" George asked quietly.

"Huh?" Fred felt like a small, scared kid under his twin's gaze.

"What did you dream about me?" he asked.

His twin, his beautiful twin, he realized, could be really, _really_ intimidating when he questioned him like this.

"Georgie..." he had a sickening feeling of earth splitting open and he being flung into the depths of it, and without a single warning, he felt his head spin, tottering on the edge of unconsciousness.

"Fred, what am I to you?" he asked in that quiet tone.

Fred was paralyzed head to toe.

"What am I to you, Freddie? Friend? Brother? Or something more than that?" his voice was soft as a gentle breeze.

Fred could only struggle to breathe.

"I love you..." Fred breathed pathetically, knowing that he was treading on a thin line, and falling off on either side will land him in hell.

George's face contorted into an expression of deep sadness mingled with unbounded affection, eyes brimming with tears.

"I love you too, dear...but we're twins; brothers, Freddie...we're brothers for fuck's sake..."

Fred found that he couldn't stand to look at his twin anymore. He staggered up, and stumbled away to the bathroom without another word, his eyes not seeing a thing as he walked, heart wrenching and thudding extremely painfully, so painfully that he was sure there couldn't be a pain any worse than this, and there was a horrible lump in his throat; its walls were constricting, making it so difficult to breathe.

It felt as though he was dying, dying a slow, unbearably horrible death.

He was irrevocably in love with his twin, and there was no turning back now.

He couldn't imagine himself with anyone else, anyone other than his twin.

And, he learnt a painful lesson.

He realized that love is a truly vicious thing if it takes root in one and not the other.

He splashed cold water on his face, and slowly, he remembered snippets of what happened between them last night.

He kissed his twin, this time right on his mouth. He tasted his twin, and just like the last time: it was without his consent; his twin had pushed him away as the kiss became heated.

_You sick bastard_ he cursed himself.

He splashed more water on his face, as though it would wash away the utter shame he felt. His lips quivered uncontrollably and his eyes stung.

"Freddie..."

His heart gave a horrible jolt as he heard his twin's voice. These days his twin could elicit such extreme emotions from him that he was disoriented with himself.

"Freddie..are you crying?" he felt his warm touch on his shoulder.

Fred's breath was laboured as he struggled to stop himself from weeping bitterly.

"Uhh..n-no," he prayed that his wet face won't betray the tears in his eyes.

His twin gripped his arm and turned him around gently to face him, and just like that, he burst into tears, his body jerking awkwardly as he cried piteously.

"I love you," he whimpered helplessly, staring at his twin's feet and not really seeing anything, "I love you, m-my Georgie...I l-love you as m-more than my b-brother...I d-don't know w-where I'm heading with this f-feeling,"

George pulled him close and hugged him, without saying a word, and tried to comfort him with gentle strokes.

"I love you..Georgie...I love you like hell...love you to bits...I love y-you.." he moaned against his shoulder, hiccupping uncontrollably with loud sobs. He took fistfuls of his shirt's fabric, and held on to it as though he'd fall if he loosened his grip.

"Freddie, I'm so sorry," George whispered in a quivering tone, "Oh I'm so sorry to cause you this pain. I...I can't stand to see you in pain, oh Merlin..."

"Y-you could n-never think of me the way I think of you, could you?"

George kept silent to this question, stroking his back.

"T-tell me...tell me Georgie..." he pleaded.

"You're my brother..." he whispered faintly, and Fred knew that he was frightened of hurting him with his answer.

* * *

As they sat at the Gryffindor table (which was unusually noisy and in a celebratory mood) having breakfast, Fred realized that he didn't give a fuck that he was a Hogwarts Champion. All he could care about was his twin who sat beside him, thinking they were so near, yet so far apart.

"-yeah that stupid Malcolm," Lee was jabbering, and he suddenly peered carefully at George, "Hey what happened to your lips, mate?" he asked.

"Oh Fred lost his wits after getting bladdered yesterday and punched me on the face, you would've noticed if you weren't so shitfaced yourself," George replied without batting an eyelid.

"Oh just look at those Hufflepuffs throwing miffed looks at us," Lee prattled joyfully, switching topics in his usual alarming speed, "Well, Cedric's a worthless pretty boy with dung in his skull instead of brains. They might've had high hopes on him getting selected, dim-witted pricks"

"But Cedric seemed to have handled his disappointment fairly well. At least he isn't sulking like a baby like the rest of em," Angelina said in her deep voice.

Lee looked at Angelina adoringly and said, "You know what Angie...I wouldn't have been complaining if you got selected instead of Fred,"

Angelina rolled her eyes at him, "Lee, can you ever have a conversation with me without such blatant flirting," she said in a jaded tone.

"Never," he said happily.

Angelina looked at Fred, "Hey, why's the one who should be talking the most so hushed today," she smiled.

"I'm actually still dumbfounded by your antics yesterday," Fred adopted his jovial air, replying wittily, plastering a smirk on his face.

"What antics?" she seemed confused.

"You kissed us," they both said together, and Fred's heart did a weird flip as he thought for the umpteenth time how well connected their minds are, and yet his twin didn't feel the same way he felt for him.

Lee appeared incensed, stabbing at his bacon forcefully, and Angelina looked genuinely surprised, "I-I did?"

"Yeah," they both said together in a flat tone, looking at their plates.

"Really, Angelina...trying your luck on them both. Well, yeah...might've been interesting, right...might've felt like kissing clones...double the delight, ha..ha.." Lee gave a forced, strained laugh.

They conversed that day, oh yeah they fucking did, his twin acting as though those moments between them had never occurred, acting as though every damn thing was fucking normal as every day, and Fred played along really well, he did, being the sad clown that he was.

* * *

Later that night, when they were unseen by the rest of the world, Fred took off the fake smile plastered on his face and the feigned cheery air like a clown wiping off his face-paint.

"Freddie, dear, don't you dare try to distance yourself from me," George was sitting on his four-poster, looking at him with pleading eyes, holding Fred's hands in his. Fred had once again refused to sleep beside him.

Fred let out a cheerless snort, "I think that's better than, than..." he couldn't bring himself to complete his sentence. His twin had known that his feelings toward him had changed...it was an unspoken fact that they both knew, but chose to overlook. But after what happened this morning, after the open confession from his part, something changed between them, a vital something in their relationship.

"No, Freddie, dear, nothing can tear us apart, do you understand me? _Nothing_," George looked close to tears.

Why did he have to go and fall for his own twin? Why? Everything was so cheery and so easy before his thoughts turned perverted.

"Even after knowing that your own brother wants to fuck you?" Fred asked, throwing caution to the wind and talking straight to the point, his words cutting through his twin.

"Freddie, maybe...maybe its just a passing infatuation," George whispered.

"You don't know a thing, Georgie," he murmured sadly.

A powerful emotion crossed his twin's features, and he inched closer to him, and let his fingers trail along his jawline softly.

Fred shivered under that simple touch, breath quickening appropriately.

"See what you do to me by just touching me lightly," Fred panted out.

George's beautiful face was dangerously close to his now, identical blue eyes locked on to each other. His twin let a finger run down the nape of his neck, and his skin tingled under the sensation, his cheeks and ears heating up.

"Freddie..." George whispered in an urgent tone, "This is wrong..." yet as he said that, he was lovingly caressing his neck.

"Uhh," Fred instinctively let out a moan, mind blurring already.

"This is forbidden, unthinkable..." George's sweet breath ghosted across his lips, and Fred's eyes closed on their own accord.

George brushed his lips against his, and Fred thought that he'd die with bliss right there.

"Proscribed," he murmured against his lips, and Fred moaned, head reeling.

Fred's next actions were purely instinctive. He grabbed his fiery red locks and smashed his lips against his twin's, and this time, his twin parted his lips willingly.

Their tongues engaged in a furious dance as Fred poured everything he had into that kiss, their first, mutual kiss.

After a few moments of heated kissing, they broke away, and Fred looked at his twin's expression.

George was aroused beyond speech, and he tilted his head and left a trail of light, feathery kisses along his jaw.

"Georgie..." Fred hissed through gritted teeth.

His hands roamed over his chest now, and several of his buttons were undone. George let his fingers run lightly over his chest, and Fred shivered violently with delight. His fingers tweaked his nipple, and Fred's heart leapt into his throat, "Mnh..Georgie.."

"Freddie.." his warm breath caressed his ear, and then he licked the shell of his ear tentatively, "Uhh Georgie lets hnh do ahh right h-here..." he panted out between laboured breaths.

But George's hands left his chest and he drew back, breathing heavily, "This is our dorm room, silly," he flashed his Georgie smile, and that smile made Fred's heart sing with joy. Everything seemed so bright and beautiful now. The world is such a wonderful place. It seemed like what happened in the morning happened ages ago.

But then another gloomy thought shadowed his joy, "Georgie, you didn't do this to please me, did you?"

George reached out and let his thumb graze softly against his lips, "No, Freddie, but...but I need some time to adjust to this. Its not that you aren't beautiful, baby...this would've been so much easier if we weren't related."

"You mean...you love me?" Fred asked sheepishly.

George chuckled softly, "Of course I do, stupid.." and he pushed him gently down on the bed, and straddled him. "I love you more than my own life," he whispered as he leaned closer and skimmed his lips lightly over his neck, and his fingers burrowed in his hair, massaging his head. Fred's eyes rolled back and he tipped his head back in pleasure.

"Merlin..unh..you're, so damn..mmh..good," Fred whispered, and shivered when his twin licked him at his tender skin right below his left ear.

Fuck, George was amazing once he got started. He bit and teased there until Fred moaned with utter delight. George's hands wandered delicately up and down his arms, and goose bumps erupted on every inch of his arms. His lips captured his lower lip and he ran his tongue over it tantalizingly.

Fred wanted fast and furious, but his twin was torturing him with delicate, slow movements.

"Argh..lets finish it right here," Fred groaned and grabbed his twin's face and fused his mouth to his in a searing kiss. His heart drummed in his ears now.

But his twin was pulling away, and slid off him and slumped down beside him.

"Baby, this is our dorm room, Lee might see our bed shaking," and George chuckled, "and we'll have to explain his sudden death," and he pulled him close and cuddled him.

Lust filled haze slowly cleared from his head to be replaced by limitless affection for his Georgie.

"I knew I fell hard for you when you cried this morning, baby," George murmured against his hair while stroking his back, "I..well..Freddie.." George hesitated.

"What," Fred murmured against his neck, urging him to go on.

"I sort of, um, jerked off that night, uh, when you kissed me..and I left you. I was an idiot, Freddie..please forgive me...I was a coward not to have accepted the fact that, I, uh, actually enjoyed it..and-"

"Mmm.." Fred pushed him to continue.

"I dunno, Freddie, maybe I was unconsciously attracted to you all along, all those times when we pulled pranks together, made our inventions, talked about our dreams, slept together.."

"Mhm,"

"And, I never thought of spending time with anyone else other than you. My world revolves around you, baby..you're my world..."

Fred's throat tightened with strong emotions. He simply gave him a peck on his neck.

"Well, but I restrained myself..though I knew you had a crush on me-"

"I love you, Georgie..its not a ruddy crush,"

"Though I knew you loved me as more than a brother, I thought maybe it'll pass..if we won't encourage it..if I won't encourage it..but, I was so wrong," He fell silent for a few moments, and Fred knew that his twin was deep in thoughts.

"Freddie, this is so wrong..we're related.."

"Does it seem wrong to you?" Fred asked him softly.

"No, baby," George kissed his hair, and held him close.

"Then its not," and Fred let himself relax in his twin's warmth and scent.

* * *

**Please review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Just clearing up what happened: George started feeling slightly different for his twin since the day Fred kissed him (chapter 6), but kept denying the fact to himself, thinking maybe its a silly crush and it'll pass, reminding himself that it is against societal norms. **

**After that incident, Wenstelio curse actually reflected his innermost desire: boundless love for his twin, as more than a brother (he didn't jump on his twin cuz he isn't a horny little thing like his brother, haha).**

**George tried to discourage Fred's feelings by acting a bit stern (beginning of chapter 14), but his power of will broke when Fred cried and confessed his feelings, and allowed his emotions to take control over him finally.**

**Thank you Haruhi Lawiet for cottoning on that this is what I meant, this chapter's for you! :D**

* * *

Fred knew that his life has changed once and for all, changed for the better, as well as for the worse, after what happened between him and his dear twin last night.

His life was now a vividly coloured, heavenly dream, his being singing and dancing with pure, beautiful joy, because he realized that his twin felt the same way he felt for him, that his heart thudded with the same longing his did for him.

They were brothers, twins, in love with each other.

Their souls were created together, they lay close to each other in their mother's womb together, they were born into this beautiful world together, their tiny bodies lay curled up in small bundles of fluffy white clothes, their identical cute little baby faces guiltless, pure, as they slept, sucking on their little thumbs together...they learned how to talk, walk, laugh together.

And now, they were going to live their lives together...forever.

His life changed for the worse, because he wasn't a moron to not realize that they were in an incestuous relationship, his baby brother and him, and that it meant serious trouble if they got caught.

They could get expelled from Hogwarts.

They could get shunned by each one of their friends.

But most heart-wrenching of all, they'll be despised, get slapped, hit, murdered by their dear mum...

Their dad's heart would break into a million pieces; they'll see his eyes turn red with bitter tears, thinking where they went wrong with them. He'll be ridiculed by everyone in the Ministry, and he'll walk with his head lowered in shame...

Their brother, ickle Ronniekins..their dear, silly, adorable baby brother Ron would never give them a fleeting glance...

Their feisty little baby sister Ginny would scream in anguish, pleading them to not show their tainted faces ever again to her...

Their big brother Bill would be traumatized, roaring at them to get lost forever from his sight...

Charlie would cry his eyes out, weep inconsolably, and ask them how could they even think the way they did..

And Percy, well, he'd get a nice excuse to disown them.. Fred could clearly visualize the look of utter revulsion etched on to his face..

Fred woke up early as usual, and was staring at his twin's pale, freckled face, peaceful as he slept, thoughts swirling madly in his head.

He then felt a surge of pure love for his twin. They'll face it all together, as one; they're one, always, like his twin always reminded him whenever he got jittery.

He bent down and kissed his lips softly.

The animal inside him, the filthy, greedy animal, was not satisfied in the least bit by the chaste little peck that he gave. He let his lips part and sucked on his twin's sweet lips, savouring his taste.

"Mhn Fred.." his twin moaned against his lips after several minutes, and parted his lips slowly.

Fred let his tongue delve deftly inside his mouth, while his hands impatiently unbuttoned his shirt and freely roamed over his love's porcelain chest, and his fingers gave loving attention to those wonderfully hardened nipples.

Within moments, his twin moaned helplessly, threw his head back, and arched his back, thrusting his chest closer to him. Didn't his delectable, soft neck need his lips' attention now? He plunged down and lapped at his throat hungrily, salty taste mingled with vanilla scent driving him crazy with lust.

"Freddie..sodomizing me already.." George groaned, his voice thick with lust.

"You're so irresistible, sweetheart," Fred said, breathless.

"Uh, lemme at least rub the sleep from my eyes, baby,"

"You'll have to get used to the idea of me rubbing it away for you every morning," Fred panted, and kissed both of his eyelids tenderly.

"Uhh..you sure know how to be romantic," a sleepy smile graced his love's lips, and he started heaving himself up by his elbows.

His twin sat up and started buttoning his shirt, and Fred remembered something about what he said last night, and chuckled softly.

"What's funny?" George asked vaguely as he peered at his buttons.

"Did you really jerk off that night, Georgie?" he asked, grinning impishly.

George's cheeks and ears turned the colour of his hair, and he fumbled awkwardly with his buttons, "Um..yeah,"

Fred leaned closer to twin's ear and whispered seductively, "And whose name did you scream as you came?"

George's whole face flushed red now, his hair was hardly distinguishable from his face, "Shut up, git.." he murmured.

"Ah, tell me, love," Fred was thoroughly enjoying teasing his baby brother this way. The way he blushed simply turned him on.

George huffed, "Your name, pleased?"

"Oh yeah, baby," and he nipped his bright red ear softly, "But you're such a wicked little bastard, Georgie..you kept me whinging and whimpering over you..while you secretly fancied me.."

"I told you I'm sorry about that, you great prat," George said, "And don't think you could get me begging on my knees for forgiveness..you'll get a nice, good ol kick on your balls if you dare to try and make me," he murmured playfully, and pushed him away.

George pulled open the curtain and got out of bed. Lee was still fast asleep; it'll be another half an hour before he'd wake up.

As they made their way to the bathroom, George's expression turned a bit grim, and he turned to him, "Freddie, Bagman still hasn't replied,"

Fred was so over the moon with the recent happenings with his twin that he had totally forgotten about Bagman, and the grim reality of his life struck him hard.

They were defrauded by Bagman and left without a single knut.

"I'll get him now that I'm in the tournament. He flits around like a pesky fly all the time. Its a bit difficult to catch him alone, Georgie...but I'll try cornering him somehow," he said in a determined tone.

At the mentioning of tournament, George's face lit up with a sudden idea, "Freddie..maybe we can run a gambling booth in the tournament..yeah, we have _two_ Hogwarts champions, you and Harry, Merlin," Fred could hear the cogs working in his twin's brain.

"We can take bets on you guys losing against the other two, or..or many'll bet on Krum winning..since he's famous and all..yeah, and we'll win the bet once he is trampled by you two.." and George laughed his cheery laugh.

Fred smiled at his twin warmly, "Sure as hell, Georgie.." Everything seemed ten times merrier now that he had his twin by his side.

Later, they were in their dorm, pulling on their black robes, and George said in a low voice, "D'you reckon we'll need to send him another letter rather than confronting him. I reckon it'll be real tough for you to catch hold of him in the midst of others," he looked at him caringly.

Lee had suddenly gone very still in the process of putting on his shoe, "Catch hold of whom?" he asked eagerly.

Fred gave George a look-what-you've-done look, and turned to Lee, "Catch hold of..my great Aunt Muriel's..cousin's..friend's daughter..to introduce her.."

"To you.." George said.

"Since you're having little luck with Angelina.." Fred completed hastily.

"Shut up, bozos! I clearly heard 'him'!"

"She can be a he at will. She's a mutant variety of Metamorphmagus," George said instantly.

Lee narrowed his dark chocolate eyes at them, and said, "I know I'm a bit slower than you two but I'm not a troll's offspring!"

"Hard to accept," they said together,

"You would've passed as one if trolls had dreadlocks," Fred said matter-of-factly.

"Well," Lee suddenly gave them a knowing look, and said, "I know that you two are at something.."

"What?" they both said together in a slightly alarmed tone.

Lee huffed, "You two ditch me often and stick your red heads together discussing something serious. What did you think? That I didn't notice it? Cmon bozos..it hurts when your best friends leave you out of something.."

For the first time since their friendship, Lee looked sad.

Fred and George exchanged slightly relieved looks, but then Fred was a bit touched by Lee's crestfallen face, and he could tell by the way his twin's eyes softened that he was too.

"Oh, you great prat..its a bit of nothing.." George said.

"Will you guys finally spill the beans or put up with my jelly-legs jinx?" Lee demanded.

Fred sighed heavily, and said, "I guess we'll have to tell him, George..or he'll eat our heads with questions.."

"Fine," George breathed in exaggeratedly, "We got diddled by Ludovic fucking son of a bellend Bagman," he said in one breath.

"You what?" Lee bulged his chocolate eyes for effect.

"Got diddled.." George repeated.

"By Ludo..guess you don't wanna hear his middle name again.." Fred completed his twin's statement.

"How?" Lee asked simply, and then looked at his watch suddenly, "Oh! We'll walk and talk..we're getting late for breakfast,"

"Well, we placed a bet with him that Victor Krum gets the snitch but Ireland wins in the World Cup," Fred said.

"And you won that of course.." Lee said.

"Yeah..and he paid us off with _Leprechaun gold_!" George said, and rolled his eyes irritably.

Lee stopped dead in his tracks, as if hit by a sudden revelation.

"Ludo, you say?"

"Yeah, dumbshit.." Fred and George said jadedly.

"Well, he's the bastard who conned my dad!" he literally shrieked.

"He did?" they asked together incredulously.

"Yeah! Well, if you two had any brains you wouldn't have been betting with that damn swindler! He's a seasoned con man, bozos.." . They took their seats at the Gryffindor table.

Fred and George continued staring at Lee, urging him to go on.

"Well, my dad placed a bet with him too, fifty galleons, and he paid him off with Leprechaun gold too.. Dad knew him from the Ministry..says he's a jovial bloke, always laughing and has a permanent wide grin plastered across his pumpkin-like face..he's so damn charismatic that nobody would think of him as an ass fucking swindler!"

"So what do we do, Fred?" Geroge looked at him worriedly,

"Well, we'll tell him that we'll inform the Ministry.." Fred said resolutely.

"Fred! It'll be blackmailing! We'll get into a lot of trouble for that!" George said.

"What else do we do? Wipe his arse?" Fred said tetchily.

Just then, a girl with blonde curls and grey eyes and a too small nose came up to them out of nowhere, admiration and adoration on her face, "Er, which one of you two's Fred?" she asked shyly.

"Me," Fred replied, slightly perplexed.

"Erm, can I have an autograph?" she asked, going red like a tomato.

Fred exchanged extremely bewildered looks with George and Lee, who had the same looks, and then turned to her, "Er, sure.."

He scrawled his signature in his untidy writing on the piece of parchment, and then looked up at her and gave her a friendly wink, and the girl turned beet red.

"Thank you," she literally stuttered, and left too quickly.

"What the fuck in Merlin's undies was that?" Fred exclaimed, eyes wide with puzzlement.

Lee then started coughing very loudly, and very artificially, and choked out something that sounded like, "Famous Fred"

George grinned mischievously, and ribbed him, "Looks like you've got fans after becoming Hogwarts Champion, Fred,"

Fred literally felt like retching, "Fans?"

Lee looked at him with mock jealousy, "Lucky dog! A bozo like you being asked for autographs! What is the world coming to?" and he started laughing hysterically.

But Lee was the only one who thought of him as a bozo. He was being followed by girls whom he was seeing for the first time since he came to Hogwarts, and because of him, George too was getting pestered by incessant accosting and following by unknown girls. Fred was really surprised when a huge gang of fifth year girls clamoured to get their school bags signed by both him and George during lunch time.

But they also had their share of defamation. Malfoy was running a smear campaign against him and Harry, and all the Slytherins had a badge which had the shimmering green caption: **WEASEL WHINES AND POTTY STINKS**

"Yeah, and Malfoy has a one inch long stick instead of dick," Fred spat viciously, and George burst out laughing.

Later that night, Fred, George and Lee sat huddled together around a desk in their dorm room. Fred was really incensed by Malfoy's frolics and badly wanted to hit him back, and they were leafing through a Charms book for a nice little spell to give him the perfect treat.

"Hmm, there's _ampliara_ to make him swell like a balloon.." Lee muttered, peering at the book, "Its a variant of engorgio.."

"Not good enough," Fred and George said together, their index fingers moving together over the tiny print, intently searching for spells.

"Or, _anteoculatia_, it'll turn his hair into antlers.." Lee offered.

"Nah," they both rejected.

"Yeah baby, check this one out.." George drawled, pointing at a red text on the right page, "_pudouratus_..it'll make him stink like shit, for one whole week!"

Fred and George exchanged identical, wicked smirks, and Lee yelled, "That's perfect! Get ready to get fucked, Malfoy!" he guffawed creepily.

After deciding to catch Malfoy unawares the next day and attack him with their usual, unmatched stealth and wit, their conversation veered back to Bagman.

"We-e-ell" Lee yawned, "Its t-too bad you lost all your savings.." and Lee gave them a genuinely caring look for once, "Dont worry, guys..he's buzzing around here in Hogwarts, right? And you're in the tournament," he turned to Fred, "Try to catch him and talk to him, telling him its a serious matter and he shouldn't shirk it this way," he got up and gave them both a friendly pat on their shoulders, "I'm off to be-ed," he said, yawning, "G'night, bozos.." and he slumped down, pulled the hangings around him, and started snoring a few minutes later.

Fred had a vague smile on his face as he closed the book, and then his eyes met his twin's, who had the same, soft smile on his lips.

"We'll have our dear friends caring for us until the day our dark secret's out, Georgie," Fred said, sighing, as he slumped down beside his twin, thinking how Lee would one day turn ice-cold toward them.

As George pulled him close as every night, Fred asked him, tentatively, "You don't regret this, do you?" and there was the familiar old stabbing pain in his chest as he asked this.

"No, Freddie..'Course not. All that matters for me in this world's you.."

Fred could still not believe that his twin loved him the way he did. An irrational doubt still lingered somewhere in his mind, and also the irrational fear of how he'd live if his twin would ever have a change of heart and leave him for someone else.

"How can I be sure that what you're saying is true..or..that you won't leave me.." he asked, desperately. He had a nagging feeling that he was the one who pushed his twin into a relationship with him. What if it was fickle for his twin, what if he wasn't as serious as him, what if, what if, what if...Fred didn't realize that his heart thudded frantically with paranoia.

He also didn't realize that his twin's face drew closer to him. Only when he felt his soft lips and warm breath on his lips that his heart started thudding not with paranoia, but with bliss. "I love you, baby..I don't know how to prove it to you.." George murmured softly, before capturing his lips in a tender kiss.

* * *

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	16. Chapter 16

The next morning brought along a slight drizzle, and also a long letter from their mum, and a shorter one from dad.

Mum's letter went:

_I got a letter from Ginny saying that you two cheated the age line and entered your names, and as I sat writing a letter to you to reprimand you for cheating, I got another letter from her saying that you, Fred, got selected as the Hogwarts Champion, along with Harry._

_Now, I am not pleased in the least bit about you two resorting to cheating to enter your names, but I couldn't help but feel proud (a bit, mind you) that you, Fred, got selected as the Champion. I say 'a bit' because you got selected by cheating, which I do not support at all._

_But being a mother, I felt my heart swell with pride, no matter how hard I tried to lessen it a bit. Well, Freddie, dear, I feel so overjoyed when I think that the Goblet considered you as the most worthy candidate among all others._

_But then Harry too got selected shortly after your name was called, and Ginny mentioned that Harry kept on insisting that he did not enter his name._

_I can assure you that Harry is telling the truth, that boy could never lie, and I can also assure you that whoever put Harry's name did it with an evil intention._

_Freddie, dear, that is the reason why mum is so worried these days. I am worried about you, dear, and also about Harry. Triwizard Tournament has always been associated with dangerous tasks and..dear, my hand shakes while I write this..deaths of its contestants, and that is when my joy is replaced by fear and worry, dear; that is when I think that you shouldn't have been selected as a Champion._

_All mum can say is that you must prepare well before each task, prepare very, very well before facing the challenges, so that you could lessen the chances of getting hurt. Also, watch over Harry, and give him advises and helps too. (But that doesn't mean I'm encouraging you to cheat)._

_All the very best for your first task. I'll be praying hard for your well being._

_Take good care of yourselves, and I want you two to visit Danish's hair salon on your next Hogsmeade trip and cut off that ridiculously long hair of yours._

_Love- Mum._

And dad's letter went:

_Congratulations, boys, on getting past the age-line, and Merlin, I rubbed my eyes twice as I read Ginny's second letter. Fred, CONGRATULATIONS!_

_The moment I knew that you got selected as the Hogwarts Champion was the happiest moment of my life. I am really proud of you, my boy._

_And Harry got selected along with you, and there is something shifty about it, I tell you. Do keep an eye on him, boys._

_Prepare well before the tasks, keep a straight head and everything will go fine, Fred. Good luck on your upcoming task!_

_-Dad._

They had transfiguration as the last class that day.

Fred, George and Lee stood at their usual back row near the window, hunched over their haddocks and trying to transfigure it into solid blocks of iron. Fred and George got the hang of it the first as usual, and Fred had just successfully transfigured his haddock when Dennis Creevey came bursting in, looking excited and flushed.

"Yes?" Prof. McGonagall asked him curtly, and Dennis said in his squeaky voice, "Please, I'm supposed to take Fred Weasley upstairs," Dennis looked at him and gave a broad, happy grin, and Fred returned it.

"And may I ask why?" McGonagall eyed Dennis curiously.

"All the champions have been called. I guess its for the photographs. Fred may not be able to return to the class before the bell goes, Professor."

McGonagall looked over at Fred, and her eyes swept to his haddock turned iron. She strode toward their table, peered at his case carefully, prodding and turning it around, and nodded appreciatively, "Neat work as always, Weasley," she gave him her rare, tight-lipped smile, and said, "Yes, you may go."

Fred looked at George, and he had a warm smile on his face, "I'll take your bag with me after the class, Fred. Go on," his twin said. Fred nodded, returned his twin's smile, and set off.

"Its amazing to be a champion, isn't it?" Dennis asked Fred, staring up at him keenly as they got out of the class.

"Oh yeah," he said simply.

"Did you see those badges Slytherins are wearing? I heard that Malfoy's the one who's distributing em,"

"He'll pay for it soon, Dennis," Fred gave him a secret wink, "You'll see him making a prat of himself in front of everyone real soon,"

"Don't tell me-" Dennis started to grin broadly.

"Yeah, you guessed it right, Dennis," Fred grinned back playfully.

"Good luck!" Dennis said when they reached the right room. Fred knocked on the door and entered. It was a small room, and the desks had been pushed to the back of the room, leaving space in the middle. Three desks were placed end-to-end near the blackboard, covered by a velvet cloth, and five chairs were placed behind it, on which Ludo Bagman, who conveniently ignored him entering, sat chatting with a witch in magenta robes, who had rigid blond curls and a heavy make-up on her face.

Victor Krum was, as usual, moodily standing in a corner, staring fixedly on the floor, while Fleur stood near the window, and threw Fred slightly miffed looks from the corner of her eye. A paunchy man holding a large black camera stood near the desks and was checking out Fleur from her head to toe.

Fleur suddenly made her way to him, and said, "Well, you cheated and entaired ze tournament. It is funny zey are allowing you to compete," she said with narrowed eyes.

"Well, does it make any sense to carp about it now?" Fred asked. He was slightly amused by Fleur's displeasure and her open way of making it known.

"If it was in nous Beauxbatons, we would 'ave 'urled you out like zat!" She mimed throwing something small out the window.

Fred felt like laughing at this girl's open hostility, "Well, zis eesnt nous Beauxbatons, ees eet?" he said, and was pleased when she narrowed her eyes dangerously, and threw back her silvery blonde hair angrily.

"You are poking fun at my accent," she furrowed her brows and said angrily.

"You guessed it right," Fred gave her a friendly smile.

She sulked and stomped away to continue staring out the window.

He turned and found that Harry had entered the room; he didn't notice him entering while talking to Fleur. Bagman suddenly sprang up when he saw Harry, and said very loudly and cheerfully, "Ah! Here he is! Champion number four! In you come Harry, in you come! Nothing to worry about, its just the wand weighing ceremony..the rest of the judges will be here in a moment,"

_Stupid fucking babbling prick..._Fred cursed Bagman viciously.

Harry's eyes met his, and he gave him an affable grin, and Fred grinned in return.

Just then, the rest of the people burst in: Prof. Karkaroff, Madam Maxime, Mr. Crouch; and they settled themselves on the chairs. They were closely followed by Dumbledore and the old wand-maker with large, pale eyes, Ollivander.

Dumbledore smiled at them all pleasantly, and said, looking at the champions, "Please make yourselves comfortable," he flicked his wand and conjured four chairs for them near the door, and they settled themselves down; Harry took his seat next to Fred.

"Wand weighing.." Fred said light-heartedly to Harry, "Wonder what they're gonna do..place our wands on a weighing scale?"

"Well, we'll see.." Harry grinned.

"May I introduce Mr. Ollivander?", Dumbledore said, taking his place at the judges' table, and talking to the champions, "He will be checking your wands to ensure that they are in good condition before the tournament."

Ollivander quietly stepped on to the empty space in the middle of the room, and said, "Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you first, please?"

Fleur marched regally toward Mr. Ollivander and handed him her wand. "Hmm.." he said, and twirled her wand between his fingers and then emitted pink and gold sparks from it, and then peered closely at it.

"Yes, nine and half inches..inflexible..rosewood, and containing..dear me.."

"An 'air from ze 'ead of a veela, one of my grandmuzzer's," she said.

So Fleur was actually part veela..no wonder all the boys were drooling over her, Fred thought. He suddenly remembered his twin's expression when he looked at Fleur. He appeared normal and sane..did that mean he too was gay like him? Then Fred mentally smacked himself for being so dim-witted.._Of course he is..do you think he gets all hot and bothered when you touch him for fun?_

But then he could be a bisexual, couldn't he? What if he's just confused about his sexual preference. Fred coudn't deny the fact that they'd never have been in a relationship if he didn't forcibly kiss him. Maybe he's confused right now, maybe he'll turn straight once his head clears...

"Yes, yes," Olivander said, "I've never used veela hair myself, of course. I find it makes for rather temperamental wands, however, to each his own, and if this suits you.."

He ran his fingertips along the wand to check scratches or bumps, and then gave it a flick, murmuring "Orchideuos", and a bunch of flowers burst from the wand tip.

"Very well, its in fine working order," he handed her the wand along with the flowers, "Mr. Weasley, you next.."

Fleur scowled at Fred as he passed her. Fred ignored her and handed his wand to Ollivander.

"Ah, now this is one of mine, isn't it?" he said enthusiastically, taking his wand gingerly in his hands.

"Yes, I remember it well, containing a single strand from the tail of a beautiful golden firebird, a much fiercer variety of phoenix..It was a particularly feisty male one, and tried to lull me into an eternal enchanted sleep with those crystal white eyes of his while I plucked out his golden feather. Fourteen and a half inches..rowan..fiercely unyielding. Its in fine condition..hmm..you don't treat it regularly though, do you?"

"Er..no.." Fred replied. He could see his finger marks all over his wand.

"Your twin's wand," Ollivandr said suddenly, "Ah, I remember..it surprisingly has a twin core..the feather of the same golden firebird..though it is twelve and a half inches and redwood," he gave his wand a flick, shooting green sparks from the tip.

He gave a satisfied grunt, and handed him his wand, and called out Krum.

Yeah, his twin's wand core was the same as his, and though it did not struck him as something exceptional back when they got their wands from Ollivander's, Fred now felt that there was something enchanting about it..as though fate too wanted to link them together in every way possible.

_Really Fred, stop being such a stupid dreamy romantic poet...stop being so thick.._

"Rather thicker than one usually sees," Ollivander was saying, examining Krum's wand, "Quite rigid..ten and a quarter inches.._Avis_!" Krum's wand let off a blast like a gun, and several small, twittering birds flew out of the end and out the window into the grey drizzle.

He handed Krum his wand, and said, "Which leaves...Mr. Potter,"

Harry made his way to Ollivander and handed him his wand.

"Aaaah, yes" Ollivander's pale eyes were gleaming, "Yes, yes, yes..how well I remember.." Then he fell silent, and spent a long time closely observing Harry's wand, much longer than he took for them. At last, he made a fountain of wine shoot out of it, and handed back Harry his wand.

Dumbledore stood up, and said, "Thank you all. You may go back to your lessons now-or perhaps it'll be quicker to just go down to dinner, since they're about to begin.."

The man with camera stood up suddenly and cleared his throat.

"Photos, Dumbledore, photos!" Bagman cried excitedly, "All the judges and champions..what do you think, Rita?" he turned to the witch in magenta robes.

"Er, yes, lets do those first, and later some individual photos.."

The photos took a lot of time, Madam Maxime cast everyone into shadow wherever she stood, Krum was skulking behind everyone, and Fred thought it was strange of him to behave this way in spite of being famous and all..the photographer wanted Fleur to be in the front, but the witch Rita pulled Harry to the front, Bagman stood bouncing on his feet like mad and grinning broadly displaying all of his front teeth, and Fred really felt like reaching out and punching him on his mouth and break all of his sparkling white teeth..he stood so bloody close to him, just a strong thrust of his fist and wham!

But he did none of that and stood facing the camera without smiling.

Finally, it was over. But that Rita woman called Harry, saying that she wanted to ask him a few questions, and the rest of them were allowed to go.

As they left the class, Fred pounced on Bagman, seeing that Dumbledore was not around.

"Ah, Mr. Bagman! Hello! You do remember receiving my letters, don't you?" Fred plastered a broad grin on his face.

Bagman appeared genuinely surprised, "Letters? What are you talking about, boy?" he was looking around as though he was getting very late for some appointment.

"Ah, don't you remember me and my twin placing a bet with you in the World Cup, Mr. Bagman?" Fred said, still grinning broadly.

"Oh..Oho..oh yes..of course I do remember, boy..But letters? I did not receive any letters. You see, I'm really running out of time, boy. You do know I'm in charge of all this tournament business being the Minister of Magical Sports. So if you'll excuse me," he gave a quick apologetic grin without looking at Fred and pounced on Bartemius Crouch as soon as he came out of the class, and started talking animatedly with him, "Oh, Barty..as I was saying about the matter on those official letters.." and strode away quickly with him.

"Fucking bastard.." Fred said under his breath, and gritted his teeth together in anger.

He met George and Lee in the Great Hall for dinner, and they both attacked him with questions on why he was called up, and he gave them a blow-by-blow account on what all happened.

"So, Bagman slipped right under your nose..hmm, told you he's a fucker.." Lee said as he helped himself to lamb chops.

George gave Fred a serene look, "Ah, leave it for now.." he slipped his hand under the table and intertwined his fingers with Fred's, and smiled at him softly, rubbing his thumb against the back of his hand, "So, got a nice little story of your wand.."

"Our wands," Fred corrected.

"But really, its such a coincidence, isn't it," Lee said as he heaped mashed potatoes on his plate, "I never knew your wands had twin cores..Twins with wands of the same core, Merlin..the odds of it are, like, a billion to one.."

George gave Fred a secret, meaningful smile, turned, and idly poked his roast chicken repeatedly with a knife, a vague smile still playing on his lips.

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	17. Chapter 17

While they were seated at the Gryffindor table next morning, a barn owl swooped down and dropped a letter in front of them. Fred reached out and ripped open the crinkled yellow envelope. His twin stuck his head eagerly with his to read.

It was from Charlie, and three lines was scrawled across it, ink splattered here and there as if written in a haste.

_Congrats on being selected. You two stay by the fire in Gryffindor Tower tonight at one o' clock sharp and I'll be meeting you. Make sure you two are alone. –Charlie._

Fred and George quirked an eyebrow together, confused. "Why does he want to meet us alone?" Fred murmured in puzzlement.

George shrugged, equally puzzled "Merlin knows,"

Then, they heard Malfoy's drawling voice a few seats across them. He was flanked by his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, and had the Daily Prophet held in his hand, giving it a good flourish and reading something out loud to an incensed Harry, Hermione and Ron.

"Yes, I still cry thinking of my mum and dad," Malfoy read, and stopped to chortle with his cronies, then continued, "Those green eyes shone with tears as he said this. Harry has at last found his love at Hogwarts, a stunningly pretty muggle-born witch, Hermione," and then he clutched his sides and laughed hard, his cronies guffawing sycophantically beside him.

"Well," he controlled his laughter, "Granger, don't be flattered now..it is a printing error. It was supposed to be a 'conspicuously chipmunk-like mudblood', and no surprises here, we knew Harry's choice would reflect his personality," and he laughed harder.

"Well," he continued, "Harry, your adoptive parents', _'Weasel's'_, fourth son, or is he fifth? Ah, who cares, well, he isn't mentioned at all as being a Champion..I guess they did not want to taint the newspaper's reputation by printing beggars' names.." and he and his cronies howled with laughter.

Fred felt such fury rise in him that his hands shook. He clenched his jaws, and without thinking, whipped out his wand and pointed it at Malfoy, yelling "_Flipendo!"_".

But his twin too acted at the same time, yelling, "_Furnunculus!"_

The result was that Malfoy was hoisted five feet high into the air and tossed backward which such force toward the Slytherin table that the goblets and plates fell over him with a loud clatter, and his face was rapidly getting covered by warts. His cronies scuttled toward him, scared shit.

"Interesting," Fred and George said together as they saw the effect of combined spells.

"Furnunculus is supposed to give the target boils, but he's got warts erupting on his face," Fred observed.

George smirked, "We'll try it on our joke experiments one day, combining banishing spell with a jinx.."

"Man..that was _fucking awesome_!" Lee said admiringly.

Many Gryffindors started laughing and cheering, but their celebration was short-lived.

McGonagall came rushing to check what the hubbub was all about, and got a bolt from the blue when she saw Malfoy lying in a heap below the Slytherin table with goblets and plates all over him and his face riddled with warts.

"Who the blue blazes is responsible for this?" she asked, looking around at everyone sternly, and her stare got fixed on Crabbe and Goyle, and they mutely pointed their fingers at Fred and George.

"Weasley and Weasley! Your antics are getting unbearable by the day! Last year it was Kenneth Towler and Patricia Stimpson, and I got fourteen complaints from Filch! And you inaugurated your pranks for this year by cheating the age-line!" At this, several people from the other three houses murmured in assent.

"Detention this evening, half an hour before your Astronomy class starts, with Hagrid! Fourty points from Gryffindor!" She turned to Crabbe and Goyle, "You two, take Malfoy to the hospital wing."

"Ah..Hagrid..piece of cake.." Fred waved it away like a cloud of midges after McGonagall left the Great Hall after shooting them a final glare.

"And losing points is nothing new!" George added cheerfully.

Later that evening at half past eleven, they made their way to Hagrid's cabin. It was dark, the skies a deep black scattered with huge gloomy grey lumps of clouds, and the air was windy and cold. They could see the windows of his cabin glowing yellow from the rise of the lawns, and the inside of the enormous Beauxbatons carriage which stood nearby was also lit up.

"Really, detention with Hagrid! What was McGonagall thinking?" Fred said light-heartedly, holding his twin's hand as they crossed the huge pumpkin field of Hagrid.

"Yeah, but look at the way she timed it right before the Astronomy class so that we'd get sapped the maximum.." George said, carefully treading on the field, avoiding stepping on stray gnomes.

They finally reached his front door and knocked. The door flung open and Hagrid's huge, shaggy form loomed before them.

"Ah, Fred an' George, was waitin' fer yeh..c'mon in.." he stepped aside to let them in, and they bustled in.

He looked kind of fidgety, shifting his weight on either feet and fumbling around for something.

"So, what was it this time?" he asked as he set a huge wooden box on his huge rickety table, two ugly, grey Blast-ended screwts scuttling around in it.

"Gave Malfoy a treat," Fred said with a wink, grinning.

Hagrid laughed his jovial laugh, "Well..fer that yeh don' need a detention..now since yeh're here, can yeh feed these beauties these meat balls? Else they'll get content with bitin' off each other's heads.." he looked around nervously once again.

"S'matter?" George asked, observing Hagrid's behaviour. It was as though he was waiting for something or someone.

"Er..can yeh stay lookin' after these screwts an' Fang over there," he pointed at his huge black dog lying curled up peacefully in a corner, "I've summat ter attend to..yeh can leave if I won' return before yer class starts..Jus' make sure the door's locked.."

Fred shrugged casually, "Yep, sure.."

Hagrid took his long, crooked umbrella and bustled out his cabin, closing the door behind him with a small click, and they were left alone in the cabin.

"Ah, look at this 'beauty'," George murmured, pointing at the ugly, fire-spitting, flat-headed screwt, "If this is a beauty, then I'm an arsehole.." and he grabbed a meat ball and tried feeding it, and the screwt pounced up and tried biting off his fingers.

"Fucking bitch!" George cussed under his breath, and jerked away his hand quickly.

Fred chuckled at his twin's actions, and wrapped his arms around his slender waist from behind, and whispered into his twin's ear, "Really, Georgie..are you really planning to feed those screwts?"

"What else, then?"

Fred leaned closer and stole a peck from his twin, and his twin's breath immediately quickened, and he kissed him back lightly on his lips.

"You should kiss me again, Georgie..." he whispered against his lips.

George turned and snaked his arms under his and obeyed without a word, parting his lips against his and sucking on his lips. Fred shivered and eagerly parted his lips, his hands travelling up his twin's waist to his head and becoming content with ruffling his hair.

Fred's sanity flew out of his head as their tongues explored each other's mouths. He pulled his twin closer to him, wanting to close every small distance between them, and shuddered in pleasure when he felt his hips grinding hard against his.

George started pulling away quickly, though. "We shouldn't be snogging here," he said, half chuckling and half gasping.

"Fuck Georgie..you make me so damn hard.." he whispered urgently into his ear, still holding on to his twin.

"That's because you're a horny, wicked devil..." his twin whispered back playfully and extricated himself from his embrace.

"No, that's because you're damn appealing.." he whispered, smiling lovingly at his twin, stepping back.

"Are you praising yourself, Freddie? We are spitting images of each other.." he grinned, turning back vaguely to the screwts.

"But so many things sets you apart from me, baby," Fred slumped down on a tattered couch by the window, and stared out dreamily at the inky black night sky, his heart swelling with endless love for his twin, "Like the way you smile innocently, the way you comfort me, the way you catch me when I fall, correct me when I'm wrong, stand by me always..I could go on and on about what makes you different from me, Georgie.."

Fred then felt the colour rising in his cheeks when he realized that he was rambling soppy, syrupy things, and cursed himself for being a stupid romantic poet once again. Then again, his twin made him weak like this..his twin made him go mad with love..

He turned and looked at his twin shyly, and saw that he was looking at him the way he did in his dreams..

George's blue eyes sparkled with pure love for him, and he made his way to him hurriedly, threw himself on him, and started pressing his lips over and over frenziedly against his, and Fred's heart burst with joy.

No words were required to prove the love they felt for each other, the tender, quick kisses George planted all over his face said it all.

His twin gathered him up in his arms, and they sat looking out the window dreamily, overwhelmed with absolute love, holding on to each other tight, the world around them becoming an indistinct blur.

But then the blur slowly faded as two gigantic, black, cloaked figures walked hand in hand across the dark, misty Hogwarts grounds before them, making their way toward the vast stretch of dark Forbidden Forest. One was the unmistakable silhouette of Hagrid, his straggly mass of tangled hair and his huge lump of body shaded in darkness. The other was twice larger than Hagrid, tall and enormous, huge opals shining in the moonlight on long fingers: Madam Maxime.

"What the fuck..." Fred and George exclaimed under their breath.

"They're together? Well, I guess it shouldn't be surprising..given their matching sizes.." George said.

"Why are they going toward the forbidden forest at midnight?!" Fred wondered out loud.

"Wanna check?" George shot him a mischievous look, the look he always has before pulling a prank.

Fred had the same, identical look on his face, "Sure as fuck.." he said readily.

They disentangled themselves from each other, cast disillusionment charm on themselves, and scurried out of Hagrid's cabin, shutting the door softly behind them, and stepped into the cool night air, the adrenaline rush before an adventure rushing slowly through Fred's body.

As they walked through the field, trying to make as little noise as possible, Hagrid and Madam Maxime a few long feet ahead of them, George whispered, "Our Astronomy class'll begin after a few minutes, Freddie.."

"Ah, lets skive it off..don't wanna miss seeing what these two are up to.." Fred hissed back without a care in the world.

"We have to get back to Gryffindor Tower before one, though..remember?" George hissed.

He was referring to meeting with Charlie. "Yeah..we still have one hour, don't worry.." Fred assured him.

They followed them quietly to the far perimeter of the forest, so far that the castle and the black lake were out of sight, and then, they heard something unexpected.

Men were hollering and shouting up ahead somewhere, creaks and rattling of metal chains could be heard, and then, a deafening, ear-splitting yowl pierced the night air.

Hagrid and Madam Maxime walked ahead a few more clumps of thick trees, and then came to a halt. Fred held George's hand, and manoeuvred them toward the last tree and hid behind it, and they both stuck their heads together and craned their necks to peep around the tree, and Fred's mouth fell open when he saw what the commotion was all about.

_Dragons._

There were four, titanic dragons, and around them, thirty or so wizards were trying to control their angry stomping and snarling. There was a black, scaly, lizard-like one, a smooth-scaled green one, a red one with fringes around its head, and a silvery-blue one with long, pointed horns. They were either swiping their massive tails angrily on the ground with such force that Fred felt the ground below him shaking, or shooting torrents of fire into the dark, night sky, illuminating the trees around them with fiery red light, and a heat so strong that Fred could feel its warmth on his cheeks.

"Merlin's undies.." they both exclaimed in marvel under their breaths.

Then, they heard a very familiar voice, a voice which so resembled theirs...

"Keep back there, Hagrid! They can shoot fire at a range of twenty! I've seen this horntail do fourty!"

"Charlie..." they both hissed in wonder.

"Its no good!" Another wizard yelled, "Stunning Spells on the count of three!"

Each of the thirty or so wizards took out their wands, and yelled in unison, "_Stupefy!_"

The dragons swayed dangerously, some had their jaws stretched wide, some with their huge, cat-like eyes wide open in shock, and fell down with loud whams, and it felt as though there was an earth-quake as they hit the ground.

"All right, Hagrid?" Charlie panted out, stepping away from the dragons, "We put them on Sleeping Draft on the way here..but it wasn't effective, as you saw just now.."

"What breeds have yeh got here, Charlie?" Hagrid asked, looking reverently at the dragons.

"This is a Hungarian Horntail," Charlie turned his head and pointed at the black one, "There's a Common Welsh Green over there, the smaller one- a Swedish short snout, that blue-gray, and a Chinese Fireball, that's the red,"

Then they saw Charlie frowning at Madam Maxime as she checked out the dragons, and he whispered something to Hagrid. Hagrid muttered something, and Charlie shook his head, cheesed off, at Hagrid.

"Four," Hagrid said, "so its one fer each o' the champions, is it? What've they gotta do? Fight 'em?"

"Fucking hell, this is what I'll be facing in the first task..." Fred hissed, and George wrapped an arm around his waist, listening, enraptured, to their conversation.

"Just get past them, I think," Charlie said, "We'll be on hand if things gets nasty, Extinguishing spells at the ready. They wanted nesting mothers, I don't know why.."

Five of the wizards brought huge, granite-grey eggs, and set them gingerly beside the dragons, and Hagrid looked at them longingly.

"I've got them all counted, Hagrid," Charlie said, looking sternly at Hagrid, "How's Fred?" he asked suddenly.

Hagrid let out a rich, hearty laughter, "Well, I don' think that boy has got any jitters abou' the comin' task..he an' George are havin' fun as usual with their pranks...why, they're in my cabin righ' now servin' detention!"

Charlie laughed quietly, "Well, I don't think he'll be that carefree when he'll face these beasts. I didn't dare tell mum what they'll be facing for the first task, she's going barmy with paranoia as it is," he imitated their mother's voice, "_Oh no! He shouldn't have been selected! That age-line was simply useless! And Harry too got selected! He's much too young! And my ickle Freddie diddy darlin'! Oh Merlin! _She was in floods after she read that article in Daily Prophet. _Harry still cries about his parents! Oh bless him! I never knew! I'm so worried about my sweetie pie Freddie! They're saying the tasks are going to be extra tough this time around!"_

Just then, George suddenly jumped and gripped Fred's arm frantically, and the branches and bushes around them rustled loudly.

"What is it?!" Fred hissed edgily.

"Fuck! Uh, so sorry, Freddie! Something scuttled over my feet!"

But the noise was enough to make Charlie stop talking, and they all craned their necks and fixed searching gazes toward the sound.

"Uh-oh..we'll better flee.." Fred whispered, and grabbed his twin's hand, turned and took to their heels, tearing through the dense thickets and trees, their feet making loud crunching noises.

They heard the faint voice of someone saying, "Someone was here..", but they blindly dashed forward without stopping for even a split second.

At long last, they reached the entrance hall. But his twin gripped his arm tightly and suddenly whirled him around roughly and pushed him against a stone wall, hiding them both from the entrance staircase.

"What?!" Fred hissed loudly.

"Shh!" His twin pressed his palm tightly over his mouth, "Look..that's Karkaroff scurrying out," he murmured very softly into his ear.

Fred looked around at the entrance staircase. True enough, Karkaroff was scampering out the entrance, descending the stairs very cautiously, looking around anxiously, as if checking if anyone's watching him or not, and hurried toward the Forbidden Forest.

Fred and George finally reached the Gryffindor common room, dead beat, and threw themselves on the couch in front of the fireplace. It was empty and quiet. Fred peered at his watch. It was 12.45 am. Charlie would show up at the fireplace within fifteen minutes.

George turned to him, and said, "Charlie must've wanted to tell us about the dragons..Merlin..you'll be facing a dragon, Freddie,"

Fred was actually so absorbed with his twin these days that the seriousness of being a Champion did not hit him, until now. Now that he saw those fearsome, gargantuan dragons, he started feeling jumpy for the first time.

His twin took his hand in his, "Well, he did say that you might just have to get past them, right?" he pressed his hand lightly, "We'll work out something, Freddie.." and Fred let himself be pacified by his soothing words and warm hand for now.

"What was Hagrid thinking when he took Madam Maxime with him?" George said after a short silence, "She'll leak what the task's going to be to that, what's her name?"

"Fleur," Fred replied.

"Yeah, Fleur..and what will you make of Karkaroff skulking off to the forest..I'm sure he might've sneaked off his ship to try and find out about the task so that he could spill it to Krum.."

"Georgie, it means the only one who doesn't know about the task is-"

"Harry," they both said together.

Fred's eyes then flickered to a badge sitting on the table, shining in the firelight. It was the badge Malfoy was distributing, and Creevey brothers were trying hard to change the caption, 'WEASEL WHINES AND POTTY STINKS". But so far, they only managed to change it to 'WEASEL SPITS AND SPOTTY CHICKS'.

"Hello brothers!" Fred actually jumped when he heard the voice from the fireplace.

Charlie's head was sitting in the fireplace, grinning at them.

"Charlie!" They both jumped up and went near the fireplace, grinning at their elder brother.

"Well, I don't have much time. So I'm warning you beforehand to shut up and not interrupt me with your silly questions. Just wanted to tell you something about the task you'll be facing. Its a dragon. By the looks of it, the other two Champions might have already got the news. We heard a rustling noise, and minutes later, saw Karkaroff darting off to his ship, and Hagrid, being the clever young giant that he is, invited over Madam Maxime while we were dealing with the dragons we brought here today. So inform young innocent Harry tomorrow about the task, because that's the fair thing to do. As for dealing with the dragon, I can't divulge much about that to you, because that would be abetting cheating. Well, that's what I'm doing right now, but whatever," He stopped to roll his eyes, "At least you now know what's coming up. Bye!"

And his head disappeared from the fireplace with a _pop_, before they could at least hurl abuses at him for not telling them how to deal with the dragon, or decide whether to tell him or not that they knew about the dragons.

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	18. Chapter 18

That night, Fred found it hard to fall asleep after knowing what he'll be facing in the first task, the severity of being a champion hitting him in full force after witnessing those formidable, fifty-feet tall dragons with his own eyes, and his twin had to stroke and pacify him for a long time until his eyes finally felt heavy and slowly drifted off to a fitful sleep.

Next morning, they waited in the common room for Harry, meaning to tell him about what they saw last night.

Harry made his way down the spiral stairs slowly after a few minutes along with Ron, tousle-haired and clearly pooped, and as soon as his green eyes caught their sight, his expression suddenly changed from lethargic to feverish zeal.

He and Ron came bounding down the stairs toward them just as they made their way toward them, and all four of them started talking impatiently at once.

"Task is-"

"We saw-"

"Did you know-"

"Hagrid called me-"

"Wait a sec!" Fred and George said together, "Belt up, Ron! Harry, listen, the first task will be a dragon," Fred said.

Harry's mouth fell open slightly, "How did you guys find out?" he asked, and then a look of realization dawned on both Harry and Ron's faces, and they both said together, "Charlie..."

Fred and George were flummoxed. "You know about it?!" they exclaimed loudly, eyebrows shooting up.

Harry grinned, "Yeah, Hagrid sneaked me to the dragons last night..he asked me to meet him before midnight, and I followed him under my cloak to the forest, where I saw Charlie with the dragons.."

Ron chipped in, grinning, "Charlie must've informed you two.."

"Oh you great prat," Fred and George said together, "We found out about the task before Charlie tipped us off," Fred said.

"How?" Harry and Ron asked together incredulously, and then Ron started grinning at them, "I guess that shouldn't be surprising, being the snooping gi-," he stopped saying 'gits' when he saw the raised eyebrows of Fred and George, "-gifted geniuses you both are.."

Fred said, "Well, we were in Hagrid's cabin serving detention when we saw him and Madam Maxime-"

"Walking hand in hand-" George said,

"Toward the forest.."

"And we thought why not follow them and find out-"

"What they're doing skulking off to the forest at midnight.."

"But then Harry, how come you didn't see these two trailing behind you?" Ron asked Harry.

"We were under the disillusionment charm, dung brains. D'you think we'll roam around starkers catching everyone's attention?" Fred said.

"So it means the task is now no longer unknown to each of the champions.." George said.

"Yeah," Harry said, "Madam Maxime might be discussing tactics with Fleur already.."

"And we saw Karkaroff tip-toeing toward the forest-" Fred began.

"And banged right into me.." Harry said, "He was swivelling his head around like mad, searching what he collided with, and I escaped getting detected by a hair's breadth.."

"Merlin's pants.." Fred and George said.

"We were bursting to tell you two about the task," Ron said, "Though I had a small doubt that Charlie might've informed you. Did he send you a letter?"

"He met us at the fireplace," Fred said.

"He might've deliberately avoided mentioning about dragons in a letter..its too chancy, he'd land in trouble if it gets intercepted.." George said.

Harry then shot a worried glance at Fred, "Saw those beasts, Fred? How d'you s'pose we get past them?"

For once, Fred too mirrored Harry's look, "Merlin knows, Harry..we'll figure out something..at least we have the added advantage of putting our heads together and helping each other out, unlike the other two gits.."

Later, as Fred, George and Lee walked through the corridor to their History of Magic class after lunch, Malfoy and his cronies were coming down the stairs and walking in the opposite direction, and when he noticed them, adjusted a badge on his chest so that it stood out more prominently. He had changed the caption from 'WEASEL WHINES AND POTTY STINKS' to 'VAGRANT WEASEL WHINES AND POTTY REALLY STINKS'

Fred kept watching him with steady eyes as he came nearer, and saw that Malfoy's bravado was tailing off rapidly as he walked closer.

"Malfoy," Fred drawled with a malicious smirk on his face, "Why don't you stick that badge up your arse so that we could see it twinkle as you rocket off to the sky the next time?"

Malfoy's pale cheeks got tinged with a faint pink, and he started striding quickly, his cronies hurrying behind him.

"We know that house elves wash your arse for you, Malfoy," George said loudly, "No need to act like a toffee-nosed twat for that," and Malfoy's ears turned bright red as he hurried away with his cronies.

"Stupid git," Fred muttered as they walked on, "Its high time that we hex him with that stink spell,"

"How about this evening?" Lee said with palpable zeal.

Fred and George gave him resolute nods, "Fucking bastard should think twice before strutting with his fucktarded bloody badges after it.." Fred said with pure hatred.

George said in the same tone, "We'll stick pin-precision-pointers all over the notice boards too, proclaiming he's a poop-smelling ferret or something..will be a great way to publicize what a great moron he is the way he's publicizing his silly little slogan about us.."

Fred and George spent the last hour in the library researching about dragons that evening. They got the last period, Divination, as free, while Lee had Muggle Studies, and hurried off to his class after accompanying them to the library.

They saw Krum hunched up with a pile of books in a corner, giggly fan girls hiding behind the book shelves and stealing looks at him; and as Fred and George entered the library, there were excited murmurs and elbowing among the girls, and they all threw adoring and starry-eyed glances at them from the corner of their eyes.

"Where were all these girls before you became a champion, Freddie?" George laughed quietly beside him as they pulled down every book they could find on dragons.

"Off hankering after some other famous figure, I s'pose.." Fred replied idly as he searched through the dusty old books.

Soon, they had a huge pile of books in their arms, and made their way to a desk and sat poring over the books.

"_Dragon eggs hatch after an incubation period ranging from twenty to fifty days.._rubbish.." George muttered, intently reading a book, his index finger tracing the lines he read, "_Dragons lay eggs after a gestation period of five months..._" George glanced up at Fred, "Charlie said the dragons are nesting mothers, didn't he?"

"Yep," Fred mumbled as he read a book, the words he was reading not really making any sense as dreadful thoughts about facing a dragon went on and on in his mind.

"Hmm, it says here _nesting mothers are fiercely protective of their eggs, so they may show superfluous aggressive behaviour during this period. Their fire-breathing capacities are at the maximum and the hormonal changes after laying eggs give their limbs and tails immense muscular power.."_

_"_Great," Fred said, "So my chances of getting trampled and beat around like a bludger are guaranteed.." He was beginning to think that he shouldn't have entered the tournament now that the initial, and as he thought of it now, foolish celebratory mood waned.

George gave him a soothing look, and then pulled out another book and started reading eagerly, impatiently looking for something that would throw light on how to use spells on dragons.

"I'll kill Charlie the next time I'll see him..that prick knows all about dragons and he left us without giving a bloody hint on how to get past it.." Fred said peevishly.

George read, "_The thick dragon hides are imbued by ancient, powerful magic which makes it nearly impossible for a single, simple magic to penetrate it. It requires the combined magic of fifteen or more wizards to bring about even the slightest effect.."_ and George looked at him worriedly.

"Wow.." Fred snorted, "So great, I'll just stand gawking at the dragon clutching a useless stick of a wand in my hand since I won't be able to cast a spell that would 'penetrate' its thick skull.."

They read in silence for another twenty minutes. So far, Fred had only found information on spells to sharpen its fangs and what food to give it so that it would breathe more fire.

"Look, Freddie, it says here _the dragon's eyes are its weakest point.." _George said with a glimmer of hope in his eyes, "So we'll have to find out some nice spell that would momentarily make it blind.."

"But you said earlier-"

"That spells won't penetrate its hide," his twin understood what he was going to say, "But I'm talking about 'eyes', not hide.." George said

Fred's lips tugged up in a small smile, thinking that so far, his twin was the one who read most of the books feverishly and found something of importance, while he sat and moped, and once again, he was reminded of how bleak and difficult his life would be without his twin.

"What?" George asked, snapping his fingers before his eyes, "You're eyes are glazing over, dear.."

Fred found that he was staring into his twin's blue eyes, "I..I love you.." he said without thinking, and blushed the next moment.

George's blue eyes danced with slight amusement mixed with love, "Baby, if we were alone here I would have snogged you senseless right now.." he murmured so that only he could hear it.

The bell rang after the last class got over, and they saw Lee waiting for them near the great staircase, and Lee said as soon as they went near him, "Hey, let's dawdle around here for some time until Malfoy foxtrots in with his cronies.."

George chuckled, "Looking at your eagerness, one would think that its you who's got a personal grudge against him.."

"Yeah, I do have personal grudge against him because you two've got a grudge against him..Oh I can't wait to see him suffer.."

But both Fred and George knew that all Lee cared about was having a good time pulling a prank, and they both were only happy to help.

"Kay," Fred said, his tone becoming all business-like, "We'll follow him to the Slytherin dungeon, and set off a detonator as distraction after we'll attack him with the spell..and then aim pin-precision-pointers at as many noticeboards as we can..wait, detonators and pointers are in our trunk in the dorm-"

"I'll get 'em," George said at once, and set off.

They saw Malfoy marching down the stairs with his cronies a few minutes after George left, and Lee started tapping his feet impatiently for George to return before Malfoy would disappear down the stairs to the dungeons.

George returned moments later, thundering down the stairs just as Malfoy disappeared toward the dungeons.

Fred, George and Lee followed hurriedly, and as soon as they rounded the corner to the unlit dungeons, cast disillusionment charms on themselves and followed Malfoy along the passageway toward the Slytherin dungeon.

"Yeah, father says that he'll be speaking to that minister to allow us a clearance and enter the elite class of wizarding..." he was babbling to Crabbe and Goyle, who were nodding eagerly at his every word.

"On the count of three," Fred hissed, and the three of them took out their wands, and muttered in unison, "pudouratus".

Malfoy was hit right at his bottom with the stink spell, and a foul, pungent odour filled the whole passageway, and just as he turned toward their general direction, while his cronies swivelled their heads stupidly all around, George flung a detonator, which blasted off at least a fifty feet away from them, and Malfoy and his cronies ran, bewildered, toward the sound.

"Yes!" the three of them muttered at their yet another successful prank, and as they dashed back out of the passageway, Fred said, "Lets spread out to reach the main noticeboards at the entrance hall, Lee, take the route through grand staircase, while George and I'll take the route through great hall, and fling these pointers at all the noticeboards you'll come across.." Fred thrust a few of them to Lee.

Lee ran up the grand stairs, while they ran through the empty Great Hall toward the entrance hall, aiming the pin-precision-pointers at a noticeboard just outside the Great Hall as they ran, a small arrow which unfurled a poster as soon as it hit a solid surface, and displayed the resentful thoughts of the caster in rhyming words, Right now, it displayed,

**Malfoy's Malodour Maladies.**

**Fluffy, feathery, farting ferret,**

**Wander near him and a spasm you'll get.**

They reached the entrance hall, and began sticking as many pointers as they can on the main noticeboard. Lee joined them a few moments later, and hissed, "I've stuck a dozen or so along the passageway as I-"

"Homenum Revelio" a gruff voice muttered behind them, and the disillusionment charm was lifted off the three of them at once.

Fred felt the colour drain from his face, and they all turned around to face:

Moody.

* * *

**Please review! *_***


	19. Chapter 19

**AAARGH WOW! OMG my fic crossed fifty reviews! Kay this is a sort of celebration! On this historic occasion, I thank you all one by one!**

**Haruhi Lawiet: OMG your reviews are so damn ****_cute_****! And that word 'jeje'...awww..it sounds so cute! I wonder what it means, though..:)**

**EgoXrs: Your reviews are the most fantastic, awesome, superb, marvellous, akdhsjdhf! I wait for your reviews, impatiently pulling my hair, and when I see you've posted a review, jump up, hit the ceiling, land down, read, and shriek with joy!**

**GeorgieForever: I just luuuurve your reviews! They make me do samba, rumba and go yipididooba! (that's not a word, I know)! (Sam and Dean..hmm..nice idea! *wink wink*)**

**Stillwind11: Thank you! I found Fred and George, ripped them to shreds with my nice, long katana, yelling at them to stop swearing so shamelessly, and they promised me that they won't from now on. But that Lee fled the moment he saw me brandishing my katana, so I'm not sure about him. I sent Snape a howler and he removed veritaserum from the 6****th**** year curriculum right away!**

**Mom52575: Thank you sooo much! R&R, enjoy each chapter, and one day the great mystery (whether Fred would die or not) will be solved! I love creating this suspense! Nyehehe *voldie laugh***

**Ava-Potter gal: OMG I really thought you abandoned my story, but before I could jump down my apartment out of despair, you reviewed and I was like YES! YES! YES! *tears of joy* Thank you! (Hmm..I never thought about the pointers that way until you mentioned it..but good idea!)**

**Sotroublesome33: Thank you thank you thank you!**

**Tlcatlady: Thank you for reviewing every chapter you read! Sankyuu!**

**Others: Enjoy reading and review! :D**

**FUN FACTS: ****I felt inspired to write this fic while listening to ****_Cobwebs-Motionless in White_****. Dunno why, lol, I guess all the angsty screaming! :D**

**I HATE DRACO!**

**Heehee, before you guyz jump out of my laptop and fling me to St. Mungo's, lets goooo...wait..this is a reeeaaally long chappie cuz of my celebratory mood..alright that's it..lets goooo...**

* * *

The three of them looked at Moody like facing a dreadful nightmare, sure that they'll be dead within the next few moments. He'd either take them to the headmaster's office to decide how their mischief must be dealt with, or face month-long, severe detention.

Moody's both eyes, normal, and his horrible, electric-blue magical one, were darting from Fred to George and back again, while it was hard to make out what he was thinking by his impassive face.

"Jordan, off you go," he grunted, not taking his eyes off them.

Lee's eyes widened, clearly shocked at his good fortune, and gave a fleeting glance at Fred and George, before nodding and mutely turning back, striding away as quickly as possible.

"You two, follow me to my office, please," he said, and started marching to his office, Fred and George following him wordlessly, anticipating the worst.

His office was...cool. There were bizarre stuff all around. On his desk was a spinning glass Sneakoscope. On the corner, sitting on a table, was a golden, humming television aerial, and there was a mirror hung on the wall which reflected not the room, but some shadowy figures.

"Sit down," Moody said, and they sat, looking around.

He saw them gazing around in wonder, and asked, "Like my Dark Detectors?"

"Er.." they both said. Fred's mouth was rather dry at that moment, and he knew that his twin's was too.

Moody's lips twisted into that horrible smile of his, "See them, skulking around in the mirror?" he asked, and they both turned their gazes at the mirror.

"That's my foe-glass," he said, "I'm not in trouble until I see the whites of their eyes..that's when I open my trunk.." and he gave a short, harsh laugh. They turned their heads toward a large trunk under the window which had seven keyholes in a row.

"So," he turned to them, "I did not need to cast a revealing spell, since I saw you with my magical eye as clear as day. Now, I needn't ask what you were doing," he gave his dreadful smile, "Got a strong antagonism for Malfoy, haven't you?"

"Er, yeah.." George said.

"Well, I can't blame you for bearing a grudge against him, not after I myself turned him into a ferret and bounced him up and down for ridiculing your family, and I won't tolerate anyone deriding Arthur Weasley or his family" and he gave that harsh laugh again, "Saved my neck a month ago, your father did.." and he looked at them kindly.

If Fred expected anything, it was certainly not this. Moody was actually _supporting_ them!

"So, d'you know anything about the first task?" Moody asked, looking at them keenly.

"No," they both lied automatically, and immediately, the television aerial whizzed and buzzed madly.

"Ah, but my secrecy sensor says otherwise," he gave a lopsided smile which made him look scarier, "It is extra-sensitive, you see. It not only detects untrustworthy deeds, but also lies..of course, only if the person is nearby will it give such a strong reaction as it gave now.."

Fred and George exchanged hesitant looks, wondering how many people would land in trouble if they said that they knew about the task: Hagrid, Harry, Charlie; and they themselves, for walking off their detention and skiving off their Astronomy class.

"Don't you be scared, laddies," Moody gave them a benign look, "Cheating's a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and always has been.."

"Erm, yeah, we both know what the task is, I mean, Harry and I.." Fred said.

"And the other two champions too might be knowing, since we saw their teachers near the-" George hesitated.

"Dragons," Fred said firmly.

"Hmm, nothing surprising about the other two champions knowing..Dumbledore can be as high-minded as he likes, but you can bet Madam Maxime and Karkaroff won't be. They want to win, want to defeat Dumbledore, prove that he is only human.." and he gave his harsh laugh, and his magical eye swivelled around sickeningly.

"So," he continued, "Got any idea on how you're going to get past your dragon yet?"

"No," Fred said truthfully.

"Well, I'm not going to tell you, I don't show favouritism, me," Moody said gruffly, "But what I can give you is some good, general advice," and both of his eyes fixed on them, "Play to your strengths,"

Fred and George exchanged contemplative looks. _What am I good at? Pranks? What use will it be while facing a dragon?_

George suddenly said, "He's..he's good at Charms, and Transfiguration.."

Moody smiled, "Yes, and there are damn good spells in charms and transfiguration which'll be helpful to _distract it.." _he gave them a significant look, "I guess you'll be able to pick up from that..._And,"_ he swivelled his magical eye madly before fixing another piercing stare at them, "What d'you reckon our second champion's strength is?"

_Harry's strengths.._.Fred racked his brains, _He's extremely gifted in attracting troubles to himself, that boy, hmm..knows to maintain his fame...aand..um..grabs the snitch in every single Quidditch match by hook or by crook, well, except for that time when he was attacked by the dementors..else he would've crushed that Diggory boy.._

"Quidditch!" Fred and George both exclaimed together.

"Wait..what use would it be against a fifty-feet tall dragon?" Fred said, frowning slightly.

"He can _fly,"_ Moody said importantly, his both eyes piercing into them, "And he could do with a simple spell that would enable him to _get what he needs_..."

Fred and George were speeding along the corridor toward the portrait of Fat Lady. Fred's head was still reeling, thinking about how Moody just let them off without imposing at least a simple detention. He simply said.._You owe me one for letting you off_..as they left his office.

"Georgie..that Moody is simply cool, isn't he?"

"Totally," George agreed fervently.

"He, he was actually.._blatantly_ helping us for the first task.." Fred could still not believe that Moody actually told them what to do in the first task.

"'He can fly', he said," George said, "Means he's saying that Harry must use his broom; and a simple spell to get his broom while in the field facing a dragon with nothing but a wand in his hand is-"

"Summoning charm, of course," Fred had figured out what Moody meant the moment he had finished his statement. It was so damn blatant.

"Balderdash" they gasped at the Fat Lady, and she swung open.

They saw Harry, Ron and Hermione huddled together on a couch near the fireplace, a huge pile of books on the floor near Hermione's feet, the three of them anxiously devouring books, while Lee was sitting in a corner with his head in his hands, clearly worrying about what must be happening to them.

"Hey," they both announced their entry, and Lee looked up so quickly that he cricked his neck.

"Oh Merlin, bozos, what happened, did he give you a week-long detention, you do know you have to practice for the task right, what will you do if you spend all your time serving detention, its a ruddy dragon you've got to-"

"Calm down, idiot," Fred chuckled, "Far from giving us detention-"

"He actually told us what to do for the first task," George said, earning a wide-eyed look from Lee.

Lee let out a whistle, "Man..I knew he's supercool..but, this is, like, surpassing all the levels of coolness!" he looked positively mad with elation.

Fred and George threw themselves on the couch on either side of Lee, and George said, "He said to play to our strengths..and both Fred's and mine strengths are Charms and Transfiguration.."

"And," Fred said, "He told us to use spells which would confuse the dragon..which means we'll have to distract it from something.."

"And there are millions of things we could do to distract it using transfiguration, like using 'transfiguration of inanimate to animate', or charms, like blasting charm or entrancing charm.." George said.

"Man, I just love that Moody guy.." Lee said zealously.

Fred looked over at Ron, Harry and Hermione sitting across them, and said, "Oh look at those poor things reading frantically," and he yelled, "Oi! You three, c'mere," he beckoned them with a wriggling index finger.

They exchanged confused looks, and then strode over to them. Ron and Harry slumped down beside George and Hermione sat primly beside Fred.

"S'matter?" Harry asked.

Fred, George and Lee exchanged theatrically momentous looks, and Lee burst out, "You guys are gonna win the first task!"

Ron quirked a confused brow, Harry looked on quizzically and Hermione waited patiently for more information.

Fred began, "Look, we were fooling around as usual-"

"And got caught by Moody-" George said.

"That amazing man-" Lee butted in.

"And he just practically revealed what we must do to get past the dragon instead of handing us detention," Fred said.

There was a shocked silence between Harry, Hermione and Ron, and then Ron asked incredulously, "He..he did?"

"No..he did a barn dance," Fred said calmly.

George continued on enthusiastically, "Harry, from what we figured from his hints, it looks like you've got to distract the dragon from something-"

"And he told that we must play to our strengths," Fred said.

"And you are good at-" George wiggled his brows encouragingly at Harry, urging him to complete his statement.

Harry creased his brows only for a few seconds before replying, "Quidditch.." in a hollow voice.

"Exactly my boy!" Fred and George said. "You're a damn good flier, Harry," Fred said, "And Moody said that you must use your broom-"

"And accio it to you in the task." George completed triumphantly.

All three of them looked at Fred and George in amazement, (Harry looked really grateful) and Ron said, grinning madly, "You know what, I'm so proud that you two are my brothers..and that you jump into troubles.."

* * *

That evening, they pored over Transfiguration books to find out something which would transfigure an easily available inanimate object into an animate object which would distract the dragon; also, George said it would be clever to find out some spell which would blind the dragon briefly ("Remember its eye are its weakest point?"), for added advantage, while Fred thought of using a blasting charm, a charm which makes the air where the spell is aimed to compress so rapidly that a blasting noise is let off.

After a lot of researching and brainstorming, they finally settled on transfiguration of a rock into eagle, which was George's idea ("We could make it circle around over the dragon's head to make it dizzy"), George also suggested conjunctivitis curse to affect the dragon's eyes, but Fred thought it would be foolish to actually cause harm to the dragon, and instead settled on 'obscuro vera', a variant of 'obscuro', which would blindfold the dragon instead of hurting its eye, and blasting charm as an additional distraction, just in case.

The next day was a Saturday, and he practised in empty classrooms the whole day, with George and Lee, the task being just three days away, and Fred's heart thudding with nerves with each passing hour, though he hid it very expertly, and very valiantly, concentrating more on practising the transfiguration, which was a bit complicated since it was not cross-species, or animate to inanimate, but inanimate to animate, which was NEWT-level, and nastily tough.

"Damit!" Fred hissed through gritted teeth, frustrated after his fiftieth attempt at transfiguring the rock, which gave the rock a pointed beak and talons, and a wing.

"Reparifarge!" he muttered angrily, waving his wand at the half-transfigured rock, "I'm done with this bloody transfiguration," he threw himself on a chair, exhausted.

"You've still got to practise the obscuro spell, Fred," George reminded him, his face anxious and brows pulled together in stress. Fred looked at his twin, and thought that he looked a lot like their mum right now with such a stressed-out expression.

Lee was reading the instructions in the book carefully, and said suddenly, "Fred, try waving your wand a bit toward left,"

Fred did so on his fifty-first attempt, and was surprised at the improvement; the rock sprouted two wings, had a complete head, and two legs. It lacked just the tail.

"Thanks, Lee," he gave Lee a tired grin, who waved a hand lazily, as if waving away his word.

He transfigured the rock successfully in his fifty-ninth attempt, turning it into a majestic, handsome eagle with hooked yellow beak, regal white head, powerful black wings and a fan-like white tail. The sun had set by that time, darkening the sky to a violet hue and casting the empty classroom into darkness. His eagle circled over their heads a few times before gliding out the window into the violet sky, soaring high and flying away until it became a speck in the dark sky, and Fred's heart lightened considerably.

Next day, Sunday, was spent the same way, practising spells in abandoned classrooms. Blasting Charm was easy, he got it right within just four tries, while _obscuro vera_ took most of the day, George and Lee taking turns in getting blindfolded.

"I can see through this blindfold, Fred!" George said in his fifteenth try.

"Its loosely tied, Fred! See, it comes undone easily!" Lee said in his thirty-first try.

"That's because of your dreadlocks, prat!" Fred growled angrily.

"Ow! My eyes hurt, Fred! Its too tight!" George complained in his forty-second try.

"That's good! You're improving, Fred! Who cares if the blindfold's too tight around a dragon's eyes?" Lee said happily.

"Oow! Ouch! AAH! My eyeballs are being forced back into my head, Fred! And I can't see a thing! Lift the spell! Lift the spell!" Lee yelled in his forty-third try.

Monday passed too quickly, to Fred's annoyance; he wanted the next day to dawn as leisurely as possible. _Why is it that the time ticks away so quickly when you're dreading something? _Even History of Magic class seemed to last only a few minutes instead of the usual aeons.

That evening, George pulled out an old box from his trunk quite enthusiastically, saying "Remember that bet thing I told?" and grinned endearingly.

* * *

Finally, _finally_, the dreaded day arrived. Fred never felt this jittery in his life.

_I don't think I remember the transfiguration I practised two days ago! I should've practised it once more yesterday!_

Judging by the darkness, it looked like he woke up very early due to jitters. His twin lay twined in his arms as every day, sleeping on peacefully, his chest rising and falling slowly.

_Don't you think you're allowed to sleep so peacefully while I'm freaking out, you beautiful thing.._

He kissed him hard on his lips; as if it would lessen his mental strain, and lessen it did, at least for the moment.

George stirred a few seconds later, and instinctively gripped his shoulder, and began moving his lips against his mouth. Fred eagerly allowed his twin's probing tongue to enter his mouth.

They kissed passionately for a few long minutes, moaning and grunting, nails clawing at necks and shoulders, tongues lashing and teeth clashing, driving each other crazy until the need for air became intense, and pulled away, gasping.

"Nervousness making you hornier, love?" George gasped, grinning.

Fred reached a hand and brushed away his ginger hair which delicately fell across his beautiful, freckled face, lovingly tucking it back behind his ear, "I..baby..I feel so damn nervy.." he felt no embarrassment in confiding what he exactly felt to his soul's other half. There were no secrets between them anymore, except for one thing Fred craved to know these days as he slept beside his love...how it would feel if they would become one, transcending physical rules, hear his love cry in pain and pleasure under him, moaning his name as they would go blind as one with sheer love.

"There's no need for you to feel nervy, love," George smiled his gorgeous smile and gave a light peck on his lips, "You've practised more than enough.."

"But..I don't feel like I've practised at all, Georgie..my mind's strangely blank.." he hugged his twin. He could be his own self with his Georgie, no need for pretences, no need to put on a mask...and despite his nervousness, he felt warmth flooding him as he thought how fortunate he was to have a lover like George, who knew his every thought, knew every mole and freckle on his body, knew how to comfort him; the way he was caressing him and whispering soft words right now wiped clean his every fear, leaving his body tingling happily and heart leaping joyfully.

"That's because you are getting nervous unnecessarily, love.." he murmured, and began to unbutton his shirt, tilting his head to trace feather-light kisses all over his chest and making him forget everything else as blissful shivers and electric sparks ran through him, making him forget his own name as his love ran his fingertips over his stomach, making it pull in involuntarily as Fred trembled and gasped.

"Baby..kiss me again..that'll wipe out all your worries.." his twin's breath was ragged against his ear, and though Fred knew it was a temporary way to forget his worries somewhere in the back of his insane mind, he did as his love told him to, readily letting his mind go blank as glass.

* * *

The Great Hall was unusually noisy that morning, a constant, excited drone filling the cavernous hall, the air trembling with anticipation.

He made his way to the Gryffindor table with George and Lee, aware of the hundreds of eyes upon him, some admiring and supporting, while some, mostly Slytherins, eyeing him maliciously (Malfoy was nowhere to be seen at the Slytherin table). The pointers they stuck at the noticeboards spread his condition like a wildfire, and word has it that he stinks so horribly that one would literally get a spasm if they'd wander anywhere near him. Fred let that thought (especially since there was no proof that they'd done it) momentarily cheer him.

Harry looked pale with nerves, Ron and Hermione going on pacifying him with calming and encouraging words. Fred, George and Lee took their seats around them.

"Harry, wizards will be standing by to control the situation if it gets out of hand, don't worry.." George said kindly, smiling at him.

"Yeah, you can smile and say all that, we're the one's facing the beasts..right, Harry?" Fred said, trying to smile through his nerves, though his facial muscles were working rather poorly at the moment.

Harry gave a very weak, faltering smile.

Fred tried eating, but felt like retching, so gave up after a few attempts.

"Fred, you need to have something in your stomach-" George began anxiously.

"So I can puke all over in front of that dragon and the whole school.." Fred said moodily.

Just then, Professor McGonagall came hurrying into the Great Hall. There was a sharp rise in the excited murmurings in the Great Hall.

"Potter, Weasley, the champions have to come down onto the grounds now..you have to get ready for your first task.." she announced, looking slightly tensed.

Fred's heart kicked up a notch, and there was a sick feeling in his stomach. He dropped his fork onto his plate with a clatter, and got up, Harry getting up with him. His eyes immediately sought George, looking at him for solace, for comfort; but George appeared equally worried now, and Fred understood that he was smiling and encouraging him until now while hiding his own immense fear.

George held his hand and pressed it once lightly, and his pale lips tugged up into a small smile, "Good luck, Freddie.." he said softly, blue eyes earnest.

Lee thumped his back as he turned, and said, "I know you'll win this, bozo.."

Ron yelled, looking scared out of his wits, "Best of luck, you two!"

He took a few steps ahead and felt a soft hand grab his wrist and tug his arm. He turned and found that it was Ginny, her face pale as death. "All the b-best, Fred.." she said in a quivering voice.

He simply gave her an affectionate poke on her head, and tried smiling; only it came more like a grimace.

They left the entrance hall with McGonagall. She didn't seem her usual calm and collected self, in fact, she seemed as nervous as his siblings looked moments ago.

They stepped out into the cold November air, and made their way toward the forest where the dragons were.

"Are you both alright?" she looked at them anxiously. They both jerked their heads once rather stiffly.

"Now, no need to worry. We have a team of dragon experts watching over, ready with help if the need arises. Just do the best you could, and nobody will think any worse of you," she said.

As they neared the clump of trees behind which the dragons were, Fred saw that a tent was erected, blocking the view of dragons from them.

McGonagall turned to them as they reached the tent, "You are to go in here with the other two champions," she said in a shaky voice, "and wait for your turn. Bagman is in there, he'll be telling you the- the procedure...Good luck."

They both mumbled their thanks and entered the tent. Fleur sat in a corner on a stool, appearing pale and clammy, while Krum looked surlier than ever, perhaps out of nerves.

"Harry," Fred turned to him, "Did you get the summoning charm right?" he asked him anxiously.

Harry nodded, looking green, "Yeah, sort of,"

"Remember, shove all other thoughts from your head and concentrate just on your broom, kay?" he said in a shaky voice. _Really, look at your own state before offering others advice.._he thought, and stared blankly at the floor.

"Fred," Harry called him suddenly. He looked up to see him smiling slightly, "Thanks a lot," he said sincerely, staring up at him.

Fred gave a pat on his shoulder, "Really, now you're starting to act melodramatic..." he cracked a small smile, "And its Moody you must really thank," he added in a whisper.

Bagman bustled in, corpulent and flushed as ever, wearing his trademark, wide, irritating grin and his old Wasp robes.

"Well," he began excitedly, his eyes travelling frequently toward Harry, "Now we're all here – time to fill you in! When the audience has assembled, I'm going to offer each of you this bag-" he held up a small sack of purple silk and shook it at them, "from which you will select a small model of the thing you're about to face! There are different – er – varieties, you see. And one more thing – er – yeah, your task is to collect the golden egg!"

Fred heard hundreds of people passing outside their tent, laughing and joking, and he thought he shouldn't have entered this stupid tournament and should've been out there with his Georgie, cracking jokes and taking bets with him.

Bagman opened the silk sack, "Ladies first," he said.

Fleur, instead of marching regally as was her norm, dragged her feet to Bagman, her face white as sheet, and put a trembling hand inside the bag, and pulled out a miniature model of what Fred recognized as a Welsh Green, with a number two around its neck. Fred was not surprised to find that Fleur's expression did not show any shock, instead showed a fierce resoluteness, and their doubt that she already knew about the task was confirmed.

The same was with Krum as he took out his model next, it was a Chinese Fireball, and he scowled fiercely with determination.

It was Fred's turn next. He felt his feet carry him toward the purple sack held in Bagman's hand. His clothes under his black robes were sticking to his body as he perspired freely, the nape of his neck itching as his damp hair clung to it.

He put his hand in, and pulled out-

A Swedish Short-Snout, stretching out its small, silver wings and staring up at him with tiny, gray eyes, baring its miniscule fangs.

And it had around its silvery blue neck the number-

One.

Fred's stomach did a horrible somersault, as though he missed a step and slipped down the stairs, and his heart was beating faster than it did when George touched him.

He was the first in line to face the dragon.

He was terrified, and he doubted if he would be able to at least hold his wand, let alone cast complicated spells.

He stared fixedly at the cute little dragon on his palm.._Only it won't be so cute and so little out there in the enclosure..._

He did not notice as Harry took his dragon, engrossed in his wild anxiety and fear.

Bagman was babbling something, but he only heard him as he said, "-now Mr. Weasley," and Fred looked up quickly, cricking his neck, "You're first, just go into the enclosure when you hear the whistle, alright? Harry, boy," he turned to Harry, "could I have a word with you?" and he walked away out of the tent with Harry.

Then, before he could gather his wits or muster some courage, he heard the whistle, and a tumultuous roar of the entire Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students assembled outside broke out immediately after the whistle, the sound of his heart thudding against his adam's apple getting drowned in the tremendous din.

He let in a deep breath, filling his lungs with air to the maximum capacity, forcing his head to calm down and think straight, deciding to face whatever was waiting to happen, and strode out of the tent, heart beating a violent tattoo against his throat.

He walked past the trees, and entered through a gap in the enclosure fence, and saw the sight before him like witnessing an unbelievable illusion.

Hundreds and hundreds of faces, appearing like flesh coloured dots among an enormous sea of black and brown, were staring down at him from the stands that had been magicked there, the enclosure echoing with deafening roars.

And at the other end of the enclosure was the life-size, living and breathing version of the tiny model which sat on his palm a few moments ago.

A fifty-feet tall, silvery blue Swedish Short-Snout, her enormous, silver wings protectively covering her eggs, her long, sparkling blue neck lined with dreadfully long and pointed spikes swooping low as she saw him, her gray eyes with black, cat-like slits for pupils fixed on him ferociously, and angry, gray smoke puffing out of her slit-like nose.

He took a step forward, and heard the crowd scream louder than ever, and Bagman was commentating something, but he couldn't hear a word, he didn't care.

His fighting instincts took control over his body as he took another step forward, earning a wild, angry thrashing of long, powerful, spiked tail from the dragon, which left deep gashes on the ground, and shook the earth below him.

He did whatever he did on pure adrenaline. He whipped out his wand, and pointed it at the rock lying nearby, and a purple jet of light flew out of the tip, hitting the rock and transfiguring it instantly into a handsome eagle.

He controlled the eagle with his wand trained on it, and the eagle glided up toward the alert, angry dragon, its gray eyes now trained on the eagle instead of Fred.

The dragon let out a low, rumbling growl, opened her jaws, bared her jagged, pointed, deadly fangs and fired out a gush of flaming hot, red fire in the direction of eagle now gliding near her neck, and Fred immediately changed its position, making it hover above her head.

The dragon was swerving her neck this way and that, roaring in pure exasperation. The eagle was nothing but a pesky fly to her which she was intending to fry with her hot, fire breath.

She craned up her neck at the eagle soaring above her, and shot a torrent of fire at the sky, missing the eagle by inches as Fred swerved it away at the right moment. He made it circle round and round above her, his mind in absolute concentration he never would've believed he possessed until this moment. The dragon was growing angrier by the second, shooting fire angrily again and again, whacking its tail in sheer frustration as she missed it every time. She swivelled her head round and round, following the eagle's path in rapt attention...

_I need to get her move away from those eggs.._

Fred made the eagle move forward abruptly, and the dragon lurched forward instinctively, shooting fire at it, wanting to fry it once and for all; but Fred was too quick, the eagle dodged the fire again. He made it fly more forward, and the dragon's wings now completely left the eggs and she stretched them out wide, and stomped forward at the irritating eagle with a loud, piercing, angry roar, breathing a fire so strong that Fred could feel its heat. Fred exploited this moment to inch toward the eggs. He kept it going, and the dragon now totally left the eggs, roaring and breathing fire at the eagle, and Fred ran blindly toward the eggs as though his life depended on it.

"He's taking risks, this one!" he heard Bagman yell as though from another universe.

But his slip in concentration on controlling the eagle cost him dearly. The dragon had charred the eagle within the split second his attention was turned on the act of running, and now swivelled its neck and turned its fearsome head on him, and breathed fire right at him.

Adrenaline rush so wild gave his legs the superhuman power to dart sideways and dodge the fire so that he escaped getting charred to death, but the fire grazed his entire left side, burning his entire left arm, left sleeve of his robe, and left side of his face. Pain like he never knew before erupted. It felt as though it was better to die than to bear the agonizing smarting on his skin as his raw flesh was getting scorched and cooked.

"_Aguamenti!"_ he roared instinctively, pointing his wand at himself, and as soon as he doused the fire shoddily (his sleeve was smoking hot and his entire left side stung and throbbed, his left eye watered, and his vision was blurred), the dragon breathed fire at him again.

He acted extremely quick, roaring, "_Aqua Eructo!" _and a thick, strong jet of water shot from the tip of his wand, extinguishing the fire just enough to save himself from burning to death.

Next, without thinking, he screamed, "_Obscuro vera!", _and the dragon was blindfolded instantly.

"Yes! Yes! Clever move-" Bagman yelled from distant space.

The dragon roared and shrieked madly, stomping its feet and thrashing its tail in pure fury. Before it could breathe fire on him, he let off a blasting charm behind the dragon, and the dragon turned blindly, teetering dangerously toward the sound, shooting torrents upon torrents of fire into the empty space in front of her.

Fred ran toward the cluster of eggs..

"Yes! He's going to get it! Yes! That was such a valiant and brilliant move from Mr. Weasley.."

His ears seemed to be back in working order again...

Deafening yells echoed around him as he let off yet another blasting charm as he ran, confusing the blind dragon and making her lurch and shoot fire in the opposite direction.

He reached the eggs, saw the golden egg shining among the granite-grey ones, scooped it up with one hand, and his legs carried him toward the stands...

He did all of this as if on an auto-pilot mode...

His brain was fuddled; the garbled screams around him did not make any sense...

The pain, the throbbing, the unbearable stinging on his left arm and face was overwhelming him...

He felt hitting the ground with a loud thud...

He felt several hands and frantic screams all over him...

And then, he saw darkness.

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**I DESERVE A REVIEW FROM EACH ONE OF YOU FOR SUCH A LONG CHAPTER!**

**REVIEW! OR I'LL KILL YOU ALL! (Erm..hehe..just kidding...pleeeaase revieeew?)**


	20. Chapter 20

**EgoXrs: Aww! Thanks! Hmm, not a yaoi, I s'pose..this is turning out to be more like a shounen-ai, isn't it? :D**

**Others: Enjoy! R&R!**

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"...Fred..."

"Fred..."

"Mr. Weasley..."

"Freddie..."

He recognized the last voice...

It was his love's voice...

His Georgie's...

And his voice was a broken whisper; a pained, frightened whisper...

He wanted to comfort him right now...

Only if he could see anything except black...

_Pain._...

Agonizing, smarting throbbing all over his face and arm, a dull pounding in his head and eyes...

"Uhh.." he moaned instinctively.

"Please drink this, Mr. Weasley," a motherly voice said, and he felt something cool and hard pressing against his lips.

He parted his lips without another thought, and a mint flavoured, cool liquid was poured into his mouth. He gulped, and within seconds, the pain slowly receded.

He opened his eyes slowly, and saw a blur of faces above him.

"Freddie, dear.." his love said anxiously.

"Uhhn.." an unintelligible sound was all he managed.

"Repaira derma," the motherly voice muttered urgently, and he felt something tickly and cool glide over his face, arm and the side of his torso, especially the angle of his waist toward midriff.

The blurry faces were slowly getting sharper. His body felt strangely exposed and cold. His eyes travelled down slowly and found that he was naked except for his boxers.

He looked around, and found his love's face the closest to him, and next to him were Ron and Lee, and standing on the other side of his bed was Madam Pomfrey; all wearing varying expressions of worry.

Madam Pomfrey held a canister in her hand, and she poured some kind of thick, orange paste from it onto her hand and started to apply it deftly over his face, arm and side of his torso. He felt really embarrassed; lying stark naked except for a pair of bloody white cotton boxers in front of Ron, Lee and Madam Pomfrey like an object of analysis.

"Uh..s'okay.." he muttered feebly.

"It is not at all okay, Mr. Weasley," Madam Pomfrey said in a chastising tone, "You suffered severe burns over your entire left side; your face, arm and torso, particularly your face and arm. It was so nasty that your clothes were burnt and sticking to your skin, and I had to cast skin repairing spell thrice to cover your raw, blistered flesh with this thin coating of skin,"

George let out a small, pained moan after hearing all this, and looked close to tears, as though her words forced him to relive the worst moments of his life.

"Freddie," he whispered, stroking his hair gently, "How're you feeling, dear?"

"I'm alright," he surely did feel better. His twin looked unconvinced, though. Fred gave his love a small, reassuring smile to comfort him, "Really...I'm alright, Georgie.."

Madam Pomfrey was done with applying the strange paste over him and threw a light cover gently over his unclothed body, "Just don't shift around and rub away the medicine onto the cover, alright?" she said, and turned to George, Ron and Lee, "You three, please leave him alone for now. You can ask about his well being after he recovers a bit," she said sternly.

They started getting up, and Fred reached out and grabbed George's wrist, "I- George, stay.." he looked at him pleadingly.

George did not need any pleading look from him to obey at once. Fred turned to Madam Pomfrey, who was leaving the cubicle of the tent they were in, "I want him to stay.." Fred said firmly.

She turned and started to reason with him, "Mr. Weasley, that was deep second degree burns you suffered, and missed getting your scalp scalded by inches. You need to stay quiet and rest for now,"

"I want him to stay," he repeated quietly.

"Alright," she smiled in an understanding sort of way, and muttered something like 'twins', shaking her head, "But I need you to stay quiet and not chat with your twin," she gave a stern look, and left the tent.

Ron, who was white as ash, said, "I'll- I'll get going, then. Harry is still out there, you know..you sure you alright, Fred?"

Fred grinned, "I'm as fit and fine as our boisterous Aunt Muriel, git.." and Ron cracked a smile, "Get lost before I kick you out," Fred said playfully.

Ron grinned, and turned to leave. Lee lingered, looking at Fred strangely. "What? You need a separate plea telling you to leave?" Fred grinned, and winced when the dried paste on his face pulled and prickled his skin

"Man, I never would've believed you're gutsy if I wouldn't have seen it with my own eyes..." he looked at him with a dead serious expression, "You were _fucking awesome_, d'you get it? D'you even know it? _Fucking awesome_..." and he too turned to leave, and turned back for last time standing at the door of the cubicle, "I'll go and continue taking bets for you, George," he said, and left.

They were left alone in the tent. George's eyes brimmed with tears as he bent down and gave him a wet, lingering kiss on his lips, sending shivers down his spine and making him forget all about his predicament.

"Baby, you shouldn't have entered this tournament.." he whispered against his lips, "I was such a bloody moron to encourage this idea and cheat the age-line.."

"It's alright, Georgie..I'm fine, nothing bad...It was just a light burn, see..there's not even a trace of burn on my skin now..."

George drew away from his face, "Light burn?" he gave a snort of cheerless laughter, "I nearly fainted when I saw you, baby," his eyes filled with fresh tears, and his nose and trembling lips turned red as his hair.

"But I'm fine now, aren't I?" he looked at his distraught twin, "You can be so daft sometimes, Georgie..." he said fondly, smiling slightly, "C'mere, Georgie..come closer...and kiss me again.."

George leaned closer and kissed him so tenderly that his heart broke, moving his lips delicately against his, running his tongue over his lips occasionally, nipping his bottom lip lightly between his lips; and Fred shivered on and on under that glorious warmth and wetness and sweet breath.

"Hn-h" Fred let out a trembling breath, and George pulled away, smiling softly, "Don't want to make you horny here, love..." he murmured, and said, "Madam Pomfrey said you might need a week's bed rest in the hospital wing, dear,"

Fred let out a disgruntled groan, frowning slightly, "What the bloody hell for? I'm okay, seriously...I'm not feeling any pain.."

"That's because she gave you a pain numbing potion, baby. You'll feel intense pain once the effects wear off, she said, because your skin's real tender right now, that was the maximum she could do to remove the burns with the spell..it'll take a week for your skin to turn normal again with this paste she daubed over you.."

"Bloody buggering hell..." Fred said peevishly, "So much for a thousand galleons.."

Just then, there was a deafening collective roar outside, and he could clearly hear many people chanting "Harry! Harry! Harry!"

"Looks like Harry just got finished with his task..." George smirked.

"Ah, too bad you didn't get to see him face the dragon," Fred said earnestly.

George chuckled softly, "You think that even matters to me right now?" and he rolled his eyes at him playfully.

Moments later, they heard Madam Pomfrey's harassed voice, "Dragons! Last year dementors, this year dragons! Sit down here, Mr. Potter! This cut looks quite shallow...you're quite lucky, you know, unlike poor Mr. Weasley..he got a pretty bad burn..."

"What?!" Harry yelled.

"Oh please for Merlin's _sake_!" she shrieked, "_Sit,_ let me clean this wound and heal it, and then you can meet him!"

They heard a bit more fussing and fretting, and moments later, Hermione, Ginny and Ron added to the commotion, and then, Harry burst in to their cubicle, followed by Hermione, Ginny and Ron.

"She wasn't letting us in earlier!" Ginny complained loudly, "She told us to stay outside while Ron and Lee were allowed in!"

"That's because he was starkers, you loony girl!" Ron said, looking at Ginny like she was mad.

"How're you feeling now, Fred?" Hermione and Harry asked as one.

"I guess we'll have to invent some kind of device now, George, which'll keep on repeating 'I'm fine! I'm fine!'" Fred said, grinning.

"She's saying he'll need a week's rest in the hospital wing," Ron informed the others.

"That means you've got a pretty nasty burn, Fred..." Harry said in a concerned voice.

"Yeah, you can make that out by this orange stuff plastered all over him, can't you?" Ron said, "Bloody hell, I felt like passing out when I saw him right after his task sprawled on the ground.." and Ron turned white as sheet once again, his flaming red hair clashing horribly with his chalk white features; but Ginny's case was the opposite, her face and hair was the same colour. She looked like she'd burst into tears any moment.

"I- I told you not to enter this stupid, bloody tournament...I told you.." she whimpered.

Ron goggled at her, "When?"

"Well, maybe I haven't..but whatever..I knew it was wrong when you cheated that useless age-line," she continued whimpering, "I knew it.."

"But you looked as happy as I was when he got selected," Ron said with bulging eyes.

"Well, I was happy, but I was worried as well.." Ginny wiped her eyes.

"Is that even possible?" Ron asked disbelievingly, plainly deeming Ginny as nuts.

'Ron, just because you have the emotional range which makes you utter just three words which reflect your usual state of mind, which are: Blimey, bloody brilliant and buzz off, doesn't mean that others are the same way," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

Ron ignored her savagely, and said, "Want anything, Fred? Anything we can get for you?"

Fred gave him a look as though he was insane, "Are you Ron? Ron Weasley? Or are you mum under polyjuice potion?"

"Fred, we sent a letter to mum and dad telling-" Ginny began.

"You sent a letter already? You people are the craziest I've ever seen," Fred said crankily.

"Well, you think that way!" Ginny yelled, red in her face, "But that's because we're so worried about you, you complete git!"

"Shut it, people," Fred was getting a bit irritated at all this mollycoddling over him, "I'm fine, okay! Its not like I'm dying or something!"

At this, George gripped his right hand tightly, and he could feel his pulse quickening beside him.

_Oh, touchy topic..._Fred thought, realizing it was George's vulnerable spot. He always got paranoid over this subject, and Fred remembered how he used to enjoy scaring him when they were kids by lying motionless, without breathing, and felt his heart pumping blood faster and a strange thrill course through him when he felt George sitting on him and crying. _I was such a sadist...I used to scare my love for the pleasure I felt when he sat over me and his breath tickled my face._ But the thrashing and angry punches he used to get from George after he would open his eyes and yell at his face, squealing with laughter at his shocked and angry expression, wasn't pleasurable at all.

His reverie was broken when George poked him gently to get his attention.

Ron was speaking to him, "I said we're going to check everyone's scores, Fred,"

"Oh," Fred said, and remembered that he still did not know his score, "Yeah, go on, then," and he realized he didn't care much about his score, all he wanted was to cuddle up against George under nice warm covers on a soft mattress and fall asleep in his arms; he felt so drained.

They all bustled out of the cubicle, sniffing and murmuring and muttering.

George was looking at his face sombrely, stroking his hair lovingly, "Freddie.."

"Hmn.."

"Never say that again..."

Fred knew what he was talking about, and rolled his eyes, "You need to get over this silly fear of yours, Georgie.." he took his hand in his right hand, lacing his fingers with his, "And I'm not scaring you anymore with my pranks, am I? After I gained some sense and turned a bit more mature, I stopped it, didn't I?" he looked at him with identical sombre expression, "Like I said earlier, you can be really, really daft sometimes.."

George kept on looking with that steady, serious gaze of his, and he had half the mind to yell _Argh! You've got the serious-spell again! Stop being a git!, _but he didn't, and instead gazed back defiantly at him with the same, identical serious expression.

After a few minutes of staring session, George said softly, "Baby, you don't know how it feels like when I watch you d-die in my dreams...you don't know a thing..."

"Well, we'll take dreamless potion-"

"I can't be downing a dreamless potion every fucking day of my life, can I?"

"Georgie.."

"You think its silly..." George's features turned obsessive, "Its not, its fucking not, baby..."

"George-"

Before he knew it, George's lips were on his, biting and gnawing them ruthlessly, while his hand, which gently stroked his hair until now, pulled it roughly. He pulled back just as quick, leaving Fred wanting for more.

"Hnh..Georgie.."

He was surprised to see tears in his eyes, "I love you so fucking much, Freddie.."

Fred was simply overwhelmed with a lot of strong emotions, and his voice came strangled as his throat tightened, "I love you too, Georgie.."

Just seconds later, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Ron, and Lee (with an old box hanging around his neck by a leather strap, jingling with coins) burst into their cubicle, all of them looking excited, and started babbling as one:

"Score-"

"Your score-"

"Harry's-"

"Fred your-"

"Score is-"

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	21. Chapter 21

**Fluff and angst!**

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"You're tied with Harry!" Lee bellowed and finally managed to get heard over the confused babble.

"And both Krum and Fleur got scores lower than you!" Ron said, grinning.

"In other words, you both are leading the scores," Hermione said happily.

"Forty out of fifty!" Ginny said.

"And we won the bet, guys," Lee grinned broadly, rummaging through the box hanging by his neck, counting the coins, "Twelve galleons, twenty sickles and ten knuts! Congrats, you two!" he said, taking the leather strap off his neck and handing over the box of coins to George.

They all settled themselves on the wooden chairs around his bed (George got up and perched on Fred's bed near his feet to give his chair to Hermione).

"You might've scored more than Harry if you wouldn't have fried yourself," Ron said.

"You scored more than me in spellwork," Harry said, grinning.

"Krum scored less 'cause he attacked the dragon with a conjunctivitis curse, and it stomped around blindly, trampling the eggs..he wasn't supposed to cause damage to the eggs, you know, and also the dragon's eyes.." Lee said, and Fred gave his twin a mock sneer, quirking a brow (George had suggested the conjunctivitis curse, but Fred rejected it for _obscuro vera_).

"And Fleur did some strange charm on the dragon which made it doze off," Ron said, "But then it snored and let off a blast of fire, and her skirt caught fire..but she escaped getting fried. But the problem was that she cast _aqua eructo_ and wasn't careful enough to aim it away from the eggs, and the eggs simply skidded off and broke 'cause of the strong gush of water...so she lost points for it..."

"You also got more points for your 'quick thinking' and 'presence of mind', in Dumbledore's words," Ginny beamed, "and for your 'fearlessness' from Bagman...and for the 'intriguing display of spellwork' from Madam Maxime.."

"Bagman gave you an eight," Ron said, "But, blimey, he gave Harry a ten!"

"And Karkaroff gave you just two points out of ten," Hermione said, and Fred and George raised their brows as one. "Two?" George asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, just two," Harry grinned, "And he gave me four," he stopped to chuckle, "He's a git...he gave Krum ten, though..."

"Rotten, abysmal douchebag..." George said, scowling, "Well, at least Bagman gave you fair points in spite of-"

Fred nudged the small of his twin's back resting against his feet sharply with his toes, and his twin stopped talking at once.

"In spite of?" Ron asked, interested.

"Being a Minister of Magical Sports.." Lee said, saving them, "He should actually be strict in giving out points, don't you think, since he's the head of the sports department and all..."

"Well," Fred said, "Far from being strict, he's really, _really_ funny and lenient..." Fred let out a snort of laughter, "_Much_ too funny.."

Madam Pomfrey bustled in to their cubicle, and looked exasperated when she saw them all huddled around Fred, "Oh for heaven's sake! Will you lot leave that poor man alone? He needs to fall asleep before the effects of pain numbing potion wears off! Please leave him alone if you really care for him!" she yelled at them all, resembling their mum a lot with her hands on her hips and her brows pulled together in worry and anger.

But her wish was once again thwarted when they heard Bagman's excited babbling outside their cubicle, "Are the Hogwarts champions in there?" he asked merrily.

Madam Pomfrey slumped down her shoulders in defeat, "Yes..." she said tiredly.

Bagman burst into their cubicle, flushed with excitement and grinning madly as usual.

"Well done, you two," he grinned, looking as though he personally had just got past a dragon, "Now, just a quick few words. You've got a nice long break before the second task, which will take place at half past nine on the morning of February the twenty fourth..but we're giving you something to think about in the meantime! If you look at the golden eggs you collected, you will see that they open! See the hinges there?" he nodded at Harry's egg clutched in his hand, "You need to solve the clue inside the egg- because it will tell you what the second task is, and enable you to prepare for it! All clear? Sure? Well, I'll get going, then!"

Madam Pomfrey was eyeing him with great impatience, as though she couldn't wait for him to leave. She turned to the small crowd of people around Fred as soon as Bagman left. "Out! Out, everyone! Right now, out!"

She looked ready to thrash them all. Everyone got up slowly, dragging their feet toward the door. "No, wait," Madam Pomfrey said to George just as he was getting up from his bed, and everyone else too stopped short to look. "You people are requested to leave," she said sternly, looking at them, and they muttered their goodbyes and left one by one.

"I need you to help him put on these clothes, okay, and take him up to the hospital wing," she had fresh, clean white oxford shirt and russet pants folded neatly in her hands, and handed them to George. "Be really careful not to peel off the dried paste on his skin. _Do not _use magic to put on the clothes, because, as you know, the clothes are put on rather hastily and it'll increase the risk of peeling off the paste...and you don't want that to happen, his skin too may get peeled off since it is very sensitive right now..."

With that, she left the cubicle, giving them privacy.

Fred grinned at his twin impishly, "Hit a jackpot, now, haven't you?"

George smiled coyly as he pulled away the cover off him gently, and he could actually hear his heart racing. "Get up, git.." George said, grasping his right arm to help him up.

"I'd rather like you taking off my clothes than putting them on for me.." he whispered into his twin's ear as he pulled up the sleeve of the shirt through his right arm, and felt satisfied when he saw his ears turning bright red.

His twin pulled the other sleeve through his left arm with utmost care, almost bordering on maniacal, neurotic care. "You're such a sweetheart, baby.." Fred whispered, and George blushed on and on as he buttoned the shirt slowly, leaving the collar button open.

He looked so damn gorgeous when he blushed for him. His tender eyelids with delicately interweaved fragile red veins, and his auburn, long lashes carefully veiled his eyes as he peered down at the last button, fumbling with it. Fred couldn't help but give him a small peck on his rose lips, "You're so beautiful, baby," he whispered, earning a crimson shade on his twin's cheeks.

"And you're damn making me blush like a girl, you git, so shut up," George murmured, breathless, as knelt down to pull up the pants through his legs.

"I like to see you blush, baby..d'you even know how gorgeous you look in this state?" He murmured, stroking his twin's hair as he put one leg in, and then the other.

"We look the same.." George murmured, and rose and sat close to him, trying to zip up his pants.

"No..for me, you look like an angel..." he breathed against his face, and traced his thumb along his love's bottom lip as he sat zipping his pants, Fred's pulse quickening when his love's fingers brushed against his shaft through the fabric, "Just look at this delicate curve of your lips, so much better than mine..." and he earned a shudder from his twin as he closed his eyes shyly. Fred let his hand slide down to his neck.

"Don't t-tease h-here..." George stuttered breathlessly as he caressed his neck gently.

"Or this little black mark on your neck here, just beneath your right ear..."

"Bloody hell, Freddie...you're...stop it...Madam Pomfrey's just outside..." George started gasping.

Fred chuckled, and drew his hand away from his twin's neck, "And I'm plastered with some ruddy orange paste..I might be looking hideous right now..." he said, grinning, "How can you get turned on by me, Georgie?"

George opened his eyes slightly, still breathing heavily, and smiled vaguely, "You're still beautiful..."

"_But we look the same_..." Fred imitated a whiny voice to tease his baby brother.

"Nah, I take back my words. Right now you look like that Wendigo Moody showed us in his first class, and I look like an angel if you haven't forgotten.." George grinned playfully, and got up, offering him his arm to help him up.

"Nothing's wrong with my legs, Georgie, I'm okay without support.." but still he took his twin's arm as he got off the bed.

Madam Pomfrey was waiting near the mouth of the tent for them. "Oh, Mr. Weasley, you're alright with walking, aren't you? Or should I summon a floating stretcher?"

Fred imagined himself lying on a floating stretcher, floating through the multitude of Hogwarts students in broad daylight toward the hospital wing, and laughed

"No..no..I'm perfectly fine with walking..." he said at once, grinning.

Madam Pomfrey looked unconvinced, though. "Mr. Weasley, then I suggest that you reach the hospital wing as fast as you can before the effects of pain numbing potion wears off. That was a small dosage I gave you for temporary relief, since I had performed skin repairing spell thrice, and applied magical paste...and there's a limit for the human body to be subjected to various magical therapy at one go..So, hurry," she looked imploringly, "Go on, I'll reach the wing after settling some matters here,"

It was fine as they walked through the grounds toward the entrance stairs, people looking at Fred, many of them waving and grinning happily at him, congratulating him for getting through the first task.

Roger Davies, classmate and Ravenclaw Quidditch player, came swooping down the grand stairs as they climbed up, grinning cheerfully at Fred.

"Congrats, mate! At least for once in my life time I addressed one of you correctly without getting confused!" he said, eyeing the orange paste on the left side of his face.

After many more congratulations from passing classmates and fangirls, they reached the first floor corridor, students thinning as they scurried off to their classes for the day. Fred's stomach growled rather loudly, and he became aware, now that the anxiety and excitement wore off, that he was ravenous. His stomach was empty save for the pain numbing potion he took, since he had not eaten anything that morning due to jitters.

They turned a corner and entered the passageway toward the hospital wing, deserted that overcast afternoon, grey light entering through the huge latticed windows sullenly filling the dull, murky passageway; and that was when Fred felt pain returning slowly.

His head pounded with a stabbing sensation, his eyes pained and felt heavy, as though he stayed up an entire night studying hard, and his skin prickled lightly, as though hundreds of needles were poked into his skin. This was combined with the hunger clawing the insides of his stomach. He stopped walking.

"G-Geor-gie..." he wheezed. He felt lightheaded.

But George was already holding him, one arm wrapped around the small of his back, and the other hand grasping his neck securely.

"Baby, what's wrong?" he whispered worriedly.

"I..hn..feel..w-woo-zy.." his vision was blackening rapidly as his knees grew weaker.

In one swift motion, he was lifted and cradled in his twin's arms, his head lolling back and arms and limbs sagging down as though he was getting paralysed head to toe...

Was he riding a horse...why was he bouncing up and down...

Up and down...

World is a dark place.

_Pain..._

Why was he experiencing pain and anxiety so much these days? Maybe that's the punishment one gets for feeling amorous towards one's own twin, one's own blood.

Head being split open...

His head was being dipped into hot molten fire...because he was in hell.

He was in hell, because he kissed his own twin, his own blood.

Stomach ripped open and fire breathed into it...

That's the punishment one gets for experiencing pleasure as one got one's stomach stroked and caressed by one's own twin...

Skin burning..burning...burning like hell...

That's the punishment one gets for indulging in sinful, forbidden pleasures as one's skin was planted with kisses and adored with caresses by one's own twin...

"Do you want to become one with your own twin? Experience the glorious feeling of reaching nirvana as your twin screams with you?"

"Yes..."

He was flung into the depths of hell after he uttered that word..

Where he was burnt alive...

"AAAAAAARRGGHH!"

* * *

**Please review!**


	22. Chapter 22

**That was Fred's confused subconscious thoughts. His brain interpreting the burning sensation on his skin, the hunger aching his stomach and the memories of dragon, and his twin, his conscience hurting him and reminding him that his feelings towards his twin are not acceptable, which resulted into that tumult of jumbled thoughts.**

**[It does happen..cuz it happened to me! Few years ago, I fell down flat on my face, unconscious, after I broke my nose and felt nauseous after seeing the torrents of blood gushing out of my nose! But by some miracle, instead of smashing my nose once again, I smashed my mouth instead! And chipped two of my front teeth (don't freak out I got em corrected!) Yeah, so while I fell (and I was unconscious), I had the feeling of being in a large, packed football stadium (which, I guess was the interpretation of people around me screaming in horror!), and freefalling from the stands and smashing my teeth onto the lush green football field! (whereas I was in a small, dusty playground playing football with my crazy friends!)]**

**Anyway! I just love _Motionless in White_! Recently got hooked to it! This chapter was written while _Immaculate Misconception_ blasted away in my ears! Their songs somehow reflect what these poor things are going through...Man, the angry, angsty SCREAMING!**

_**..I am who I am, this is what we are,**_

_**I don't care if this offends you, or your worthless god...**_**Man, there couldn't be a more apt line for the twins...**

**...**_**Open your mind before your mouth!...**_** Aaargh..classic!**

**(Fluff and smut *yep there's smut in this chap* inspired by _Lullaby-Armor for Sleep_)**

**SMUT HATERS HAVE BEEN WARNED!**

* * *

"AAAAAARRRGH!"

"Freddie!"

"NOOOOOO!"

"Freddie!"

He was burning...burning into ashes...

His worthless face must wither away into ashes so that his twin would feel revolted when he'd see him. He was burning in hell because that's the only way to purge him of his sinful thoughts. Angry red flames leapt toward him from every direction..

Hot molten fire poured into his mouth so that he won't utter dirty words to his own twin.

"NOOOOOOO!"

Something cool and mint flavoured was forced into his mouth.

Maybe someone pitied him...thought that he shouldn't be burned to ashes for loving someone...

To love is not a sin...

Love is not a sin...

Loving his twin with his whole heart...his whole soul...is not an unforgivable sin...

Love is pure...

His Georgie is pure...an angel...

He is so easy to love...

Its not his fault that he fell in love with such a pure, innocent angel...

Because love is blind...

"Freddie..."

He loved that voice...a voice so sweet that it put angels to shame...

"Don't wake him up..." said a kind voice, unlike the voice which asked him if he wanted to fuck his twin...

"I've given him a heavy dose of the potion...his mind might be a bit disturbed right now...in a state of semi-consciousness..."

He was a disturbed, disgusting bloody brother-fucker...

But his love was an angel...he wasn't the one who started this..

Started this dangerous, incestuous love...

He was a devil who lured an innocent angel with a tempting, delectable, gleaming red fruit...luring him into a pleasurable, addictive drug that is love which gave them both a high, made them both ecstatic...

The nights were surely pleasurable...spent tasting him and exploring his beautiful body with his hands..savouring his taste, drinking in the sweetness of his mouth and saltiness of his skin, relishing in the silken feel of his skin against his palms. Feeling his body bucking against him in waves of pleasure as he showered him with hot kisses and rough strokes..

Spent hearing his sweet sighs and gasps and moans...

Breathing in his intoxicating scent...

Gone were the innocent days when they would chatter and laugh endlessly until they fell asleep...

These days, they spoke in the language of love and need and desire until they fell asleep..

His twin would always stop him when he grew too eager...grew too hot and hard and breathless for him...

If only he would whisper for more so he could fill him with his love for him...

Maybe he was scared...scared of doing it... No matter how much he coaxed him with his '_let me in, Georgie, please_' and '_let me love you baby_' gasped licentiously into his burning red ear...his love would plead '_not now, please, not now..._'

But otherwise it was perfect...

But how long will this bliss last?

It was all too blissful and perfect to be true...

One day, they would suffer..both him, a devil, and his twin, an angel..they both would suffer for _his _selfish desires...

He was the one to blame...he forced his twin into this...

But it wasn't just desire..it was also unending, pure love...

_George..._

This one word..a name.. the name of the most beautiful being in this universe..the most lovable being..the most innocent, gentle, pure being..was etched on to his mind like some unforgettable sweet melody...

A being who meant a lot to him..

His brother, twin, best friend, lover, soul mate...

He heard a soft lullaby..a familiar tune he'd been hearing since his babyhood, their mum used to sing for them...and now, a sweet voice was humming it...a voice he so loved..

And his worries were wiped away just like that when a soft hand started caressing his hair...

* * *

Maybe he slept for a minute. Or a millennium. He couldn't be sure.

He cracked open his eyes. He was staring at plain white ceiling. The huge rectangular room with single-beds arranged in neat rows was washed in pearly moonlight entering through the huge latticed windows.

His body felt strangely light and numb. His head felt light, and strangely cool, as though it was empty and filled with cool air.

Then, his stomach gave a horrible lurch, its insides rolling and twisting painfully with acute hunger. He was so ravenous that he could eat every bed in this room, and his head was spinning with hunger.

"Hnhhnn" he whimpered, though he himself didn't know why. Maybe being this hungry made people whinge like puppies. He instinctively felt like coiling into a small ball so that his stomach would stop hurting and churning.

He was going to do just that when he felt someone move beside him, to his right side. But he did not have the energy to turn his head and look who it was, he realized, so he abandoned the idea of both curling into a ball and looking who stirred.

"Freddie.." someone hissed anxiously. He felt a huge relief wash over him when he realized who it was.

He did not need to say any damn thing, because his love was pressing a glass against his lips, pouring wonderful, cool water into his parched throat. He swallowed eagerly, and felt like gobbling the glass too along with the water.

"Unghhh.." he made a meaningless noise after finishing. He meant to express that he was fucking hungry.

Maybe they were connected by their minds, because his love was pressing a warm spoon against his lips now, a mild smell of oatmeal filling his nostrils, and he gulped impatiently; it could be some sludge for all he cared.

After many spoonfuls, he felt sense returning to him, and warmth filling his stomach. His head stopped reeling uncomfortably.

"Freddie...how're you feeling, dear?" he asked caringly.

"I..I'm fine," he croaked.

"D'you want to sit leaning against the pillow?" George asked.

"Mhm,"

George helped him up, grasping his right arm and supporting his back, and propped his pillow against the headboard. Fred let himself relax against the pillow.

"Here," he pressed the spoon against his lips, "Have some more,"

He obeyed without another word.

"Madam Pomfrey said you need to have some light food, since you could throw up otherwise.." George said as he fed him.

"What time's it?" he asked between mouthfuls.

"Two in the morning.."

His heart gave a flip. His twin was here with him in the hospital wing instead of being in the dorm.

"Did you sleep, Georgie?" he asked, though he knew the answer to it. He might've been sitting upright and alert, worried sick and staring at him constantly, being the git that he was. And he also knew his answer was going to be-

"Yeah..." he said in a small voice.

"Don't lie.." Fred said, smiling weakly as another spoonful was fed to him.

"Well, let's just say I was just half-asleep.."

"Liar.."

"Alright..I was just going to drift off when you stirred.." he said as he fed him the last spoonful, and put away the bowl on the table.

"No," Fred smiled lovingly, staring at his twin's stunning, moonlit face. His love had a weak smile playing on his pale lips, "You were going to stay up watching me snore away, weren't you, you git?"

George smiled his lopsided smile, and looked down for a fleeting moment before meeting his gaze, his blue eyes glistening a bit with wetness, and bent to plant a small kiss on his lips. "You were screaming, baby..screaming with pain as you slipped in and out of consciousness before you were given a larger dose of the potion.."

"Geoorggieee.." Fred frowned slightly, and took his twin's hand in his, "Stop your melodrama now, alright? Tell me something.."

"Hmm.."

"How come you're sitting here instead of being in our dorm?"

"Madam Pomfrey let me to stay watching over you after I pleaded with her," George stopped to snort, "I was even ready to beg on my knees if she kept on denying...but I was saved from the embarrassment because she finally allowed when she realized that I'd fill the room with tears if denied.."

Fred grinned with his twin, and held his warm hand a bit more securely.

"But she may not allow tomorrow. She reckons that you'd be in a much improved state, and won't be needing looking after..."

"So...you won't be staying with me tomorrow night?" he asked with a pang of disappointment, and immediately chastised himself for being so selfish.

George rolled his eyes dramatically, "Of course I will, you moron. D'you think I'll be sleeping peacefully without you by my side? And that too when you're in the hospital wing looking like a Wendigo?"

"Shut up!" he grinned, slapping his twin's hand playfully, "C'mere, Georgie..sleep here with me," he turned and fumbled with the pillow behind him with his one hand, and was saved the trouble when George reached out placed the pillow back neatly on his bed. Fred wriggled a bit toward left, trying to make space for George, but saw that it wasn't enough at all. He frowned in displeasure.

George chuckled at his actions, "I'll sleep on the next bed, kay?"

"No.." he shook his head, "No..I want you here with me.." he said obstinately.

George sighed, "No, baby, its better that I sleep away for the next few days. I don't want to accidently hurt you while asleep,"

"Argh, stop being a git. I want you to sleep here with me.."

But George was pushing him down gently by his shoulders down on the bed, making him lie down, "Sleep, baby..you must be so tired.."

"Georgie-" he started protesting.

"Hush, love," he placed a long, warm finger on his lips, "I'll stay here beside you until you fall asleep. Is that fine?"

"No, but-"

"Shh.." he silenced him with a deep kiss which left him speech impaired, and gave him shivers and made his heart leap out of his ribcage as his warm tongue massaged his tongue and his wet lips moved languidly against his.

"Mnhm," he made a guttural sound against his mouth, and George pulled away, smiling with satisfaction.

"Sleep, darling.." he stroked his hair gently while sitting on his chair, leaning close to him.

"You're wicked, Georgie," he frowned, looking at his content face, "And unfair, and rude, and harsh, and a git, a moron..you're making me dance to your tunes with your bloody sensual tactics, and its," he paused to yawn as his eyes drooped as his love caressed his hair relentlessly, "Its simply not fair, you g-git..But, you won't ever yield to my w-wishes," he was struggling to keep his eyes open as those gentle caresses felt so soothing, "You.." he yawned hugely, "You won't let me take you..you never lemme..." It was really unfair but his love was humming a bloody lullaby in his sweet tone, "You..m-make me horny and needy...and then you refuse to let me fuck your brains out.." Why won't he stop humming a bloody lullaby so he could argue with him without closing his eyes, "Y-you..I wanna f-fuck..y-you so _hard_ that you'd" his eyes won't open now, "Lie shattered on th-the bed for h-hours..." and he was falling into a deep, black ocean where he could fuck his love hard forever and ever and ever...

* * *

They both had missed their classes that day, and Madam Pomfrey sent a letter to Dumbledore requesting him to excuse Fred from the classes for a whole week. So the next morning, he woke up to see a tall, old man in flamboyant, purple robes with long, flowing white beard and hair, and half-moon spectacles perching on long, crooked nose, staring down at him, smiling benignly.

"Er," Fred mumbled, voice thick with sleep and eyes blinking in confusion. He saw that the headmaster was surrounded by his siblings, Harry, Hermione and Lee; and Madam Pomfrey fumbled around behind them with some beds.

"Good morning, Fredrick," Dumbledore said, "How do you feel?" he asked kindly.

Fred was actually surprised to find that the headmaster was caring enough to come down and give him a visit.

"Er, fine.." he tried getting up.

"No, no," Dumbledore smiled, "Do not strain yourself now. I have just come for a quick visit. Please let me know if you need anything, Fredrick,"

"Er, its fine,"

"Hmm, looking at your report from Poppy," he flourished a paper, "It is not fine, Fredrick. Deep second degree burns sustained from a nesting female Swedish Short Snout," he smiled kindly, "Though brave of you it is to wave it away as fine, I do know better. Now, your twin here," he looked over at George, who was standing with a sheepish expression, "Requests to be let off of classes for a week along with you," his blue eyes twinkled in slight amusement, and he smiled, looking at Fred once again, "And I think I might allow that,"

George looked as though someone had announced that the next day was Christmas and he would be getting a thousand galleons as present.

Fred grinned automatically, looking at his twin.

"Do take care of yourself, Fredrick. Do not hesitate to inform me if you feel something is peculiar, or if you need anything," he smiled, and turned to leave with a whoosh of his robes, stopping to exchange some words with Madam Pomfrey.

His breakfast was set on his table, kippers and bacons waiting to get eaten by him, along with pumpkin juice. He (and George too, since he was going to stay with him in the wing for the day now that Dumbledore exempted him from classes) spent the morning in the company of their siblings and friends, having their breakfast and talking merrily with them all. Hermione had knitted a funny, poorly-knit red mitten with an 'F' on it ( Fred joked, "No offense, Hermione, but this looks like a woollen red _spider!_" he waved it suddenly in front of Ron, who was caught unawares and jumped horribly at the word 'spider').

Ginny gave a get well card with a horrible sketch of Fred with his red hair on fire, and they all aiming hosepipes at him. (George mocked her, "Ooooh! Ginny's wasted a parchment on which she could've written a letter complaining about us to mommy!), and he earned a kick on his shin from her for that.

Harry gave him chocolate frogs, Ron gave him a handkerchief ("Why don't you keep this for yourself so you could wipe your perpetually runny nose, git?" Fred said), Lee slipped him a bottle of chloroform when others weren't looking.

"You have more of these with you?" George asked incredulously.

"No," Lee said in a theatrically sad tone, "That was the last of the exquisite thing. Take great care of her, bozo.."

Fred laughed, "Now, how many people can say that they were given chloroform as a get well soon gift?"

"Either he is dumb, or he is dumb," George said, shaking his head sadly, "No other alternative, you see.."

They all said their goodbyes and left for the Great Hall for their breakfast. (He and George had breakfast earlier than the usual time), and they were left alone in the hospital wing, now lit with a weak November morning sunlight.

"So, you won't give me a get well card or something?" Fred asked his twin, who was sitting on a wooden chair by his bed.

A sly smile graced his love's lips, "Actually, I have something better than that..."

He turned and bent to take something from behind his bed-side table, and took out two, fully bloomed, fresh red roses with long, thorny stems and a few tender violet-green leaves, and gave them to Fred, who took them gingerly in his right hand.

Fred felt so damn special and loved that he was left speechless.

He gazed at the beautiful, claret roses with pearly dew drops adorning them, mesmerized, their delicate scent tempting, yet pure...and then another scent mingled with it..a familiar vanilla scent, as his love leaned forward and kissed him gently on his lips.

Fred didn't know why that happened..but a few tears rolled down his cheeks unbidden as he relaxed into the kiss. His love pulled away gently, took the roses from his slack hand, and placed them in an empty white vase on the table.

"Where did you get these from?" Fred asked softly.

"Just outside the greenhouse.." he said simply, while brushing away a teardrop on his cheek with a finger.

"So you went there while I was asleep.."

"Mhm.."

His love was a sweetheart.

...

Madam Pomfrey bustled in after half an hour and vanished the dried paste on his skin with an 'Evanesco sauo' (gentler variant of evanesco used for cleaning of wounds by healers) , told him to have a bath in cool water without using bubble bath (she placed a great stress on '_cool_' and '_do not use bubble bath'_), told him to take off his shirt when he came out of the hospital wing bathroom with his shirt on (he was damn tired of baring his torso to this woman), applied the orange paste on his pinkish, soft skin (Fred noticed the paste smelt like lemon balm and rosemary).

He had to take pain numbing potion thrice a day for the first three days, and the dose was reduced to twice a day after that.

The week passed quite quickly, with his love by his side to talk nineteen to the dozen with him. George tried opening the golden egg the next day as Fred's condition improved and their chatter veered to the topic of tasks, and the egg let out a horrible, ear-splitting shriek when it was opened, which burst Fred's eardrums. ("Aaaargh! Close the damn thing!" Fred yelled).

Ron, Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Lee visited him in the mornings and evenings. Madam Pomfrey told George to return to his dorm before curfew. "Like hell I would," he muttered, but left, only to return under disillusionment charm after Madam Pomfrey retired to her matron's office.

Finally, he was discharged from the wing, fully healed, and he realized that being sick and on bed-rest wasn't that bad when you have a lover like George by your side. Hell, he even secretly wished if he'd fall sick or injure himself often so he could get pampered by his Georgie (he thanked Merlin that George couldn't read his silly thoughts).

...

* * *

After his encounter with the dragon and getting burnt awfully, something changed with George. He became more obsessive with him, and was beginning to slowly lose some of his apprehensions in getting too physical with him, and Fred couldn't have wished for anything better. He'd been waiting for this, waiting for the sweet moment when he could feel his secret places and hear him gasp.

That night, after their usual sweet nothings, they grew pretty eager as their light kisses steadily grew passionate and frantic. He straddled his twin and ripped away his shirt frantically as he kissed him all over his neck, massaging his creamy, porcelain chest with both his hands. George became lax under his caresses and bites, rocking his body gently against his in pleasure...hot, moans and sighs escaping his parted lips...eyes half lidded, those slits of blue growing dark with utter lust as Fred tweaked his nipples.

"D'you like this, Georgie?" he whispered into his ear as he ran his fingers in circles around his navel, making his love carve in his stomach and shiver in delight.

"Hn..y-yes.."

"Or this?" he slid his hand down and stroked his bulge through the fabric of his pants, making him twitch his hips against his, his rhythm matching the pace of the caresses he received.

"Mhn..yesss..ahh..."

Fred lost his senses when he heard those moans. His fingers successfully unbuttoned his love's pants, while his mouth fused with George's, their tongues moving and twisting around one another, and Fred absorbed his moans as he stroked his throbbing bulge through his cotton boxers.

George was writhing up and down against him now, moaning and grunting.

Fred broke the kiss, and licked his love's jaw, lapping at the slobber of saliva created there.

"Uhn..Freddie..I..s-stroke me," George's half-lidded eyes glimmered with sheer lust as he grabbed his hand and guided it inside his boxers, rubbing it against his rock-hard shaft. He bucked against him harder and faster than ever as he moaned in pleasure. "Ah..s-stroke a b-bit, fuck..ahh..h-harder.."

Fred's head was reeling, heart thumping furiously as his hand came in contact with his love's hard, and rather big member, for the first time, precum oozing from his slit as he pressed the head lightly and moved his palm up and down gently, making it slick, earning a mad thrust of his hip into his palm, and a few more gasps and fiery moans.

"Hn..I need f-faster.." George whispered.

Fred increased the pace, completely aroused by his love's needy moans and frenzied thrusts. George grabbed his locks and pulled them so frantically in his craze that it pained, but Fred liked that pain. He wouldn't care if his love pulled his hair out of its roots now. He stroked his love's cock, hard and fast and rough. George was half-sitting with utter pleasure now, raising himself up by grabbing and pulling Fred's hair viciously, rocking his hips madly, thrusting his oozing cock rapidly into his clenching and stroking palm, moaning and whimpering Fred's name.

He looked at his twin's face, and grew damn hot and hard and wet as he saw his reactions.. His twin's face was contorted in complete ecstasy as he bounced up and down rapidly, breathing hard into Fred's face with his mouth open in his trance, brows knitted and blue eyes rolling back into his head as he groaned..

"Fuck yess...hnh..ahhh..Freddie, I l-love y-you..Aaah! Fred! I'm about t-to.."

He spurted his warm, white seed into his palm, and some over his stomach, released his vicious grip on his hair, and slumped down hard onto their bed, exhausted, gasping for air.

Fred was so damn horny that he wanted to taste his love's cum. He brought his hand dripping with his white juice to his mouth, licking it clean off his fingers and palm. God, that was the most delicious thing he ever tasted...it tasted just like his Georgie..sweet and salty and tangy.

He moved down and licked it all off his love's stomach, loving the way his stomach was rippling beneath his face, moved still further down and kissed the base of his twin's slick cock, running his tongue along the length right to his swollen head. His cock was twitching to life with the treatment it was receiving from Fred's mouth. Fred took the head in his mouth, licking and sucking it clean..took more of his sweet cock into his mouth, and it steadily grew harder inside his mouth. He wanted every part of his dear Georgie, wanted to gorge on him..he was so sweet and lovable and delectable...

"B-baby..hhnh..aaahh..s-stop.."

But he did not want to fucking stop. He bobbed his head and sucked it ardently as though it was a popsicle, taking it in until his gag-reflex could get the best of him, savouring the taste of his cum spread on his sweet cock.

George was pulling his hair once again, but this time he was desperately pulling him up to make him stop.

Fred released his love's cock from his mouth, licking his lips, relishing the lingering taste inside his mouth. "Georgie.." he kissed his way to the top, kissing his stomach, chest, neck..and stopped when he reached his lips. He looked at his love's face.

Damn, he was so fucking gorgeous that Fred wanted to cum by just looking at his face.

Face flushed with shyness and ecstasy, eyes closed, rose lips slightly parted, gasping heavily, a thin layer of glistening sweat covering his face and pulsing neck, damp ginger hair sticking to his forehead and cheeks and neck, carefully framing his angelic face.

"You're so beautiful, sweetheart.." Fred gasped against his face.

George opened his eyes slightly, revealing dreamy blue slits, and a vague smile flitted across his soft lips. "Freddie...that was just..hnh..what the hell was that, Freddie.."

"My love for you.." Fred whispered as he kissed his damp forehead, "D'you even know how wonderful you taste..or how gorgeous you are when you moan and whimper.."

George's eyes fluttered close as he licked his heated, sweaty neck, at his beauty spot below his right ear, "Let me fuck you, baby.." Fred pleaded into his ear as he massaged his love's head with both his hands.

"N-not now, we're in our dorm-"

"But I fucking wanked you off in our dorm room, right? No one's gonna hear, baby..we've both cast double silencing charm.."

"N-not now, please..we'll make love..but n-not now.."

Fred got off his love and lay beside him, snuggling into his sweaty body as his twin turned and embraced him. "But why, baby..why not now?" he murmured against his warm, damp neck, his breath slowing down after their heated moments.

George sighed deeply into his hair, holding him close like a precious thing, and kissed his hair, "To tell you the truth..I.."

"Hmm.." Fred had the faint feeling that this was one of his shilly-shallying-spell.

"Er, you won't laugh at me, will you?" he murmured sheepishly.

"Argh, Georgie..tell me without your um and ah's..."

"Freddie..I'm actually.."

"Git, I'll rape you if you won't stop dallying..I'm at the peak of my sexual desires as it is..having just seen your glorious horny state.."

"I'm actually, er..nervous.."

Fred smiled against his twin's neck, "Just like I doubted.." he murmured.

"What.." George asked with a faint confusion lacing his sweet tone.

"Hmm, well, I knew that you must be scared of getting penetrated, dear.."

George stayed silent at this, and Fred knew he must be feeling embarrassed at himself.

"Georgie, its okay, dear..we'll make love when you feel ready..its just that you make me so damn hard that I can't control myself.." he said to make him feel better.

George started stroking his hair, and Fred knew that he must've felt relieved now.

A thought suddenly struck Fred. Why doesn't he get penetrated by George rather than wanting to enter inside him? Yes, that would be so amazing. To have his Georgie deep inside him, ramming hard into him, pounding him with his sweet cock...

To feel that sweet, warm cum spilling deep in him, have _his_ Georgie's seed inside him..

The thought itself was making Fred wet.

"Baby," he licked his neck, enjoying his salty taste, "Why don't _you_ fuck me?"

George's pulse immediately quickened. "I..but Freddie.."

"What? You have such a beautiful cock, love...fuck me hard with it..."

George remained silent, and by the way he was breathing hard, Fred could understand that he was feeling damn self-conscious, yet aroused.

"I..I'm not.." he breathed. Fred had the feeling that he was feeling nervous.

"What, love?" Fred was tracing little circles with his finger on the nape of his twin's neck.

"I.." he was panting, "I'm not sure about myself, love..I.."

Fred rubbed his back to calm him down.

"W-what if I hurt you..what if I..I, Freddie..I'm not yet ready to go beyond just touching and fingering each other right now, baby.."

Fred kept on rubbing his back. He surely was a little disappointed, but at least his love submitted a bit and allowed Fred to feel his intimate places...

"Are you- are you angry with me or something, Freddie..that I'm not allowing you to.."

"Nah, baby..the day I'll be angry with you will be the day you'll marry you-know-who..."

And George's body shook with a small laughter as he held him tight, cuddling him like a cherished possession..and Fred nuzzled into the one who kept him warm and comfortable every night, letting himself relax and be happy with the thought that he saw his Georgie cry out his name as he reached his peak...

And slowly drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

**Yeah, so our Georgie is a bit bashful about the idea of getting laid. It doesn't mean that he loves Fred any less. It's just that he is the one who takes a little longer to get used to certain ideas, and Fred is the one who is hot-blooded and impulsive. :D**

**Please review!**


	23. Chapter 23

You know you are not normal when you are madly in love with your own twin.

Yes, they were identical physically, save for a few tiny, minuscule differences which marked them as separate individuals, tiny differences unnoticed by everyone else other than themselves...

Tiny differences between them they discovered as they grew together..

Fred inexplicably remembered that one incident clearly even after all these years. They were chubby, cherubic tots of barely three as Fred combed his twin's hair with his grubby, pudgy, tiny hands; and said, "Jojee..you've a dot hee on yo neck..", mistaking his beauty spot for dirt, and his love said, "You too ave it..".

But will Fred accept that he had dirt on his neck? No...he was always clean, unlike George, who always tripped, or got tripped by Fred as they played in their backyard, not caring if they'd soil their tiny little pants...

"No, you ave it, not me. Am oways clean.." he said proudly.

His love turned and gave him a toothy grin, blue eyes innocent as he leaned closer and trailed his tiny finger on his neck, stubbornly searching for a mole on his neck, but finding none..

"Awight..you don ave..but I ave a dot, Feddie? Where?" His love seemed worried, curvy, luscious red lips pouty and thin brows puckered.

"Hee" Fred placed a tiny index finger below his love's right ear, and tried scrubbing off the dirt, but it stayed there etched on his tender baby skin, no matter how hard he scrubbed.

"Aah! Feddie! You hurtin me!" his love winced in pain, chubby cheeks and tiny nose turning red like roses and huge blue eyes turning watery.

"Iwon go away!" Fred yelled.

"Buh...why? Tell it to go away, Feddie! I don want a dot on my neck!"

"Go away dot! Shoo!" he said, but it still stayed. "Iwongo Jojee.."

George looked at him worriedly, "You won stop playing wimme cause I ave a dot, Feddie?"

"No, Jojee...this dot's good," Fred gave him a bright smile, "I like this dot.."

Or the time he discovered his Georgie had curvier lips when they were five and riding toy broomsticks, and his love fell off of his. Fred hurried over and helped him up, and saw that George had scraped his lips a bit. He pressed his lips lightly with his thumb.

"Does it hurt, Georgie?"

"A bit..."

Knowing not what to do, he moistened his thumb with his spit in the spur of the moment and gently dabbed it on his love's lips, hoping that somehow it would ease his pain.

"Freddie!" George grasped his wrist, moving his hand away from his lips, "That's your spit!"

"And its as good as yours! We both are the same!" Fred grinned.

George smiled innocently at him, and that was when he noticed that his love had beautiful lips.

"But Georgie, don't you think your lips are slightly different from mine?" Fred asked.

"I haven't noticed..maybe its different now cause I hurt it.." he said with a cute smile.

"No, your lips are better than mine.." he said, envying the gentle curve of his lips, not knowing that one day, he'd spend his nights gorging on those lovely lips.

You couldn't fall in love with your clone, can you?

His Georgie wasn't his clone, no. They were so alike, yet so different, and that was what made him fall in love with him..

His mirror image had a certain charm in him which made him go crazy about him. He knew him from utero, he knew his moods, knew the tiny fluctuations in his breathing and movements in his sleep, knew when he was having a bad dream, knew his emotions sometimes in a telepathic way...

And now, he also knew how his seed tasted...

They were unlike any other couple in this world..

The way his body fitted perfectly over his identical lover's body...

Yet the subtle differences which made George unique...

The love which extended beyond corporal needs...

Yet the fiery, passionate love with which he treated his love last night...

And he thirsted for more...he could never have enough of his Georgie...

He realized that he was bordering on maniacal, obsessive love as he lay staring at his love's half-nude, sleeping form for hours with such disjointed, chaotic thoughts whirling in his mind...

He'd be his servant if he wants him to...

He'd kill anyone who'd dare to even look at him in a wrong way..

He'd die protecting him...

He knew he was mad in love as he pulled up George's boxers over his half-clothed arse, pulled up his pants gently, and covered his exposed chest with their duvet. He could see the love bites and nail marks his love received on his shoulders and neck, and his own head pounded dully since George had pulled his hair by its roots last night.

His case of love bites was worse, he realized, when he turned the tap and stood under the shower of water pouring over his naked body, stinging the bruises, and he thought that he liked that pain. His Georgie's filed down nails gave him those beautiful red marks on his shoulders, his love's ivory teeth gave him those sweet bite-marks...

Fred officially declared himself as a raving maniac in his mind, with an insatiable mania for his twin.

They both were in a light-hearted mood the whole day, exchanging knowing looks in between their classes, wild thrill shooting through Fred whenever George looked at him with those smouldering eyes and a small lopsided smile...

They were in the transfiguration class, and having finished with their transfiguration (animate to inanimate: three-step transfiguration: baby peafowl to dandelion to cotton), were aiming precision pointers at their classmates after a long hiatus of the recent worries and sufferings.

"Alright, McGonagall's busy with that Stimpson, aim it now, Freddie!" George hissed into his ear, looking at Malcolm, a Slytherin, while Lee bounced with excitement on his left, abandoning his peafowl half-way transfigured into dandelion so that it had wispy threads on its head.

He aimed it, and true to its name, it stuck precisely on Malcolm's back, displaying:

**Don't be fooled by the small size of my head,**

**I am a big-headed git who wets my bed.**

Alicia, Angelina and Katie were giggling behind them. Fred felt like aiming the pointers at random people, just to see what it'll display.

He aimed it at a fellow Gryffindor, a wiry blond boy, and it displayed:

**I think I'm handsomer than centaurs,**

**My girlfriend's a bitch to hanker after a horse,**

**They effing trot on their all fours,**

**I wish she'd get a hoof-mark on her nose.**

Many people had started laughing, desperately trying not to howl with laughter.

But that was enough to make McGonagall turn, and her eyes immediately landed on Fred and George, who were trying hard to keep a straight face.

Thankfully, she was standing far ahead, and couldn't see the backs of Malcolm and the other boy.

"Now, if you people will stop your giggling, I have an important announcement to make," she said, her eyes still fixed austerely on them both, and then swept her gaze on the whole class.

"Hogwarts will be arranging a grand ball, called 'The Yule Ball'," she paused to let the words sink in among the students, and continued, "Which is a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament, an opportunity for us to socialize with our foreign guests. The ball will be open to only fourth years and above, although you may invite a younger student if you wish,"

There was an excited murmur in the whole class, especially among the girls, who were giggling animatedly. Many were looking at Fred and George with eager eyes, maybe because Fred was in the tournament, or they'd suddenly started looking extra-gorgeous, he couldn't be sure, although the latter probability seemed far-fetched...and he once again thought where was all these girl's attention before he became a champion, and was reminded once again why he did not particularly like girls. They were so spurious, with their undue giggling and the way they latch on to guys with fame. It was really ridiculous, the way they'll kiss or get laid by anyone who's famous enough.

Then again, maybe he was being narrow-minded, since he wasn't like normal blokes who try their luck on girls. He expected a certain level of intimacy in a relationship; otherwise it cannot be called a relationship, can it? But maybe he thought that way because he was in love with the one with whom he has a deep level of intimacy. But that was wonderful, wasn't it? To be in love with someone who knows you inside out...

"Dress robes will be worn," McGonagall's sharp voice brought him back to earth, "and the ball will start at eight o' clock on Christmas Day, finishing at midnight in the Great Hall. Now then-" she stared at them all deliberately, gaze turning so stern and lips so thin that she looked intimidating.

"I want total discipline from each one of you on that day. The Yule Ball is of course a chance for us to, er, enjoy and, relinquish some rules, but that _does not_ mean that you people," she looked very threateningly at Fred and George, "are allowed to behave the way you want. You will be sorry if you embarrass the house of Gryffindor in _any manner,"_ she nodded deliberately at Fred and George, and a few people giggled.

The bell rang, and there was the usual flurry of movement to exit the classroom, and Fred, George and Lee were just leaving when McGonagall called from her desk in her sharp voice, "Weasley, a word, if you please."

Fred and George exchanged confused looks, thinking that she had somehow caught them aiming the pointers, and grudgingly made their way toward her.

She looked up from some pile of papers, and adjusting her glasses, said, "Which one of you is Fred Weasley," and a small smile appeared on her lips in spite of herself.

"Me," Fred said, mildly confused as to why she was looking less intimidating if she was going to hand them detention.

"Weasley, the champions and their partners traditionally open the ball. So it is compulsory that you must be accompanied by a dance partner to the ball, alright? So make sure you get yourself a partner," she nodded, and turned to her pile of papers.

...

* * *

"But my partner's you, darling," Fred crooned into George's ear that night.

George smiled as he toyed with his hair, "You and I both know of the consequences of us attending the ball hand in hand," he chuckled softly and trailed his fingers lazily on Fred's neck, looking into his eyes, "Though I wish if we could've been partners, Freddie.."

Fred sighed. What the hell, he had to ask a girl to be his partner...some known or unknown girl..and dance with her! Great.

He had thought of simply going to the ball unaccompanied by any partner when McGonagall announced the Yule Ball, thought of casually walking in with George, who would also be unaccompanied, of course..

Yeah, they wouldn't dance in front of everyone...

But maybe they could've slowly retreated to some empty classroom, and danced quietly to the slow melody of their breaths and heartbeats...

Danced a slow paced dance, looking into each other's eyes..

And when they wanted an increase in the tempo of music, he simply had to kiss his love's lips...

Then their dance would turn fierce and passionate as their arms tangled and lips fused.

But his dreams were shattered when McGonagall said that he must be accompanied by a dance partner.

"Bloody hell," Fred said, "Whom should I ask, Georgie?" he asked sullenly.

George's blue eyes danced with slight amusement as he smiled and said, "That's your choice, Freddie.."

"Well," Fred thought of the girls he knew, "I won't be asking Angelina, no. Not after I refused to go out with her to Hogsmeade when she asked me even after I did not kiss her back that day.." and he realized that Angelina must've genuinely liked him, but of course, not as much as his Georgie loved him. No one could match the love George had for him.

"Hmm, maybe Alicia, or Katie?" George suggested.

He looked carefully at George, and asked suddenly, "Wont you ask any girl?"

George's face screwed up in thought, "Hmm, dunno. Right now I'm thinking of not asking anyone.."

"So you mean you _might_ ask when you'd have a change of mind?" Fred felt that old jealousy rise in him very, _very_ slowly.

"Um, no. I wont ask anyone, no," he said with a finality.

Fred had the slight fear that he might have sensed his jealousy, and said quickly, "No, Georgie..it'd be so odd if you'd be without a partner while I'll be having one..after all, we look the same, right? I'd say you should get yourself a partner too.."

George laughed quietly, "Dont get yourself so worked up, baby,"

_Shit._ His twin sensed his jealousy, of course. Who was he kidding.

George was kissing him all over his face, "Freddie..you're so," he stopped to kiss his nose, "Silly.."

Fred grabbed his twin's face to stop him, even though his libido was screaming at him to let him continue, "No.." he was already breathless. It was amazing how George managed to make him excited by the smallest of gestures, "Really, its fine Georgie.." he smiled at him. He was somehow relieved by the way he laughed off his jealousy, and felt reassured that George couldn't feel attracted, even in the slightest way, to anyone other than him.

And he realized another thing: he was fiercely possessive of his Georgie.

* * *

Rest of the days passed with Lee asking Angelina to be his partner at every opportunity he got, and she always replying, "Hmm, I'll reply after mulling it over.." while looking at Fred from the corner of her eye; and..

With the golden egg.

Well, he seriously hadn't given the egg any thought until George reminded him of it one night ("We should work something out about that egg, Freddie" along with his cute worried expression). George was really fearful of the tasks thanks to the shocker he got on the first task.

Harry said that his egg too reacted the same way when it was opened: letting out the ear-splitting shriek which ripped one's eardrums.

They all would huddle together, with fellow Gryffindors looking on with interest, as they sat on the comfortable armchairs and couches by a cheerful fire in the evenings of frosty December with wind howling and snow pelting outside the huge latticed windows, as they tried different methods of opening the eggs and comprehending something out of the sickening shriek.

"Maybe you are supposed to hit Filch on his head on your next task," Lee said, "Yeah, the one who aims a boulder on his head the most accurately, which would naturally make him shriek like this egg, will get the maximum points.."

"Git, if you won't keep your ideas to yourself I'll aim a boulder to your head.." Fred said crankily after getting frustrated of hearing the bloody shriek from the egg for the umpteenth time as Harry opened his.

They chucked the egg from the top-most stair, chucked it across the floor to a corner of the room (Fred even thought of chucking it into fire, but Hermione said that that would be a bad idea), tried tapping the egg, speaking to the egg ("Stop shrieking or I'll eat you" Ron growled to the egg).

Finally, they thought that it would be wise to relax, since there was still two months. (Hermione reprimanded them for being so laidback after seeing how tough the first task was..she reasoned that the second task would be tougher, and George agreed with her)

"Oh, give it a rest, you two.." Fred said, "There's still two more months..". He wouldn't have been opening the bloody egg if George wouldn't have insisted on it.

"Fred!" George said, "I don't want you to make Hospital wing your home for a second time!" he said with puckered brows.

_But I'd like to..maybe you'd let me fuck you after another shocker.._he thought a bit selfishly.

Meanwhile, both Fred and George were getting asked by lot of girls to be their dance partners, and Fred grudgingly agreed to go with Marietta, a girl with curly brown hair and a friend of Cho's, when she asked him. She seemed so happy that it felt as though her face radiated golden light out of happiness.

After the news got around that Fred was going with Marietta, that evening, while they were lounging in the common room, Angelina jumped up spectacularly from her couch, walked over to Lee, and said that she would very much like to be his dance partner.

George was turning down every girl who asked him.

"No, I'm already booked!" "Sorry, already engaged!" he said happily to the girls, and some would walk away hurt, and some glowering as though they wished to pound the one lucky enough to get George to a pulp.

"Baby, don't turn them down. I'm really fine with you having a dance partner.." Fred said, this time sincerely.

And with a lot of persuasion from Fred, George felt reassured that he won't be feeling bad about this, and asked Alicia while they were in the common room, who said yes instantly, over the moon with her luck..

"But, George, I thought you said you were 'booked'," she said.

"Oh that!" George waved his hand dismissively, "I meant that I was booked to you, Alicia..but then I realized that I haven't yet asked you, 'cause I was so absorbed in imagining us dancing, haha! Silly me!" he said cheerily, lying expertly on her face.

And Fred felt so incensed, so damn incensed at how she got a compliment from _his _Georgie, false though it was, but still, she got complimented by _his_ Georgie...that he felt like hexing the crap out of her right then and there so that the silly, starry-eyed grin on her face would be wiped off.

* * *

**Please review!**


	24. Chapter 24

With the end of the term came Christmas Holidays, which passed in a pretty laid back manner (save for the occasional reminding from George to open the egg), with Fred having no exams to worry about, being exempted from them since he was a Champion, and he thought with a mirthful snort that he wouldn't have worried about them even if he wasn't a Champion, and so neglected his holiday homeworks spectacularly. George was no more concerned about his homeworks than him, and so they both spent their time developing Canary Creams (they had spent all of their canary creams on the night he got selected as a Champion and so had to work on them from scratch) in their free time. They bought cream truffles from Honeydukes on their first weekend of the holidays with the galleons they earned from George's gambling booth, charmed them all with '_avis_ _serinus_', sent owl post to some people from whom they received order forms (they had managed to woo quite a few people during their fifth year, and some of them included Lee's cousins as well), with a renewed price list for ton-tongue toffee, pin-precision-pointers, canary creams and fake wands (bursting, transfiguring, shrieking varieties). Fred had suggested an increase in the price for the toffees and creams by 5 knuts and pointers and wands by 12 knuts. They did not place extendable ears and decoy detonators in the list because they still needed to perform some safety tests on them.

"Isn't 12 knuts a tad too steep of an increase, Freddie?" George asked doubtfully while they wrote the letter, sitting huddled together in front of a desk in their dorm.

"Of course not. We put in a lot of effort developing these things, don't we? We do need to gain some profit.." he said resolutely as he scribbled on the parchment.

Lee burst in the room after some time, flakes of snow resting on his dreadlocks.

"Man, perfect weather for tobogganing! Why don't you two come out and breathe some fresh ai-" he eyed the parchment Fred was scribbling on, "What's that you're writing?"

"Sending price lists to your cousins.." Fred said.

"Ah, yes..those creams you've been poisoning these days.." he walked over to them, "What!" he exclaimed after reading the list, "You greedy scumbag! 5 sickles and 15 knuts for a ruddy bursting wand! Just because Mike's a dimwit doesn't mean you can take him for a ride!"

"Lee," George smiled sweetly at him, "D'you have any more dimwit cousins..it'd be really beneficial for our business.."

They also stuck an advertisement on Gryffindor noticeboard with their precision pointer:

**Want to Horse Around and Have Fun on Holidays?**

**Canary Creams** **adorn you with fluffy feathers,**

**Fake Wands** **may give your foes shudders,**

**After they'd shriek on their faces,**

**Or explode at unlikeliest places.**

**Ton Tongue Toffees** **are a 'heavy' treat,**

**Just give it to some annoying git to eat,**

**Pin-precision-pointers** **are best**

**To be aimed at the pricks you detest.**

_Contact Fred and George Weasley to know the price of the products._

They even demonstrated canary creams by hiding them in apple pies and treacle tarts they nicked from the kitchen and kept them deliberately on the common room tables, and almost everyone had burst into feathers by the time Christmas Day drew nearer, and they had great success with their products as many people bought them in their holidaying spirit, and earned 15 galleons, 12 sickles and 10 knuts by the time Christmas was days away.

Having your lover as your business partner is a wonderful experience, where midnight sessions of discussing price lists are followed by sweet kisses and gentle caresses steadily leading to fiery avowals of love, and rare are people as lucky as he was, Fred thought.

Fred, as usual, was the one who woke up the first on Christmas Day, and gave his love a deep kiss on his lips to wake him up.

"Morning, love" he whispered as George's eyes opened slowly to reveal sleepy blue eyes.

George gave a lazy smile, and whispered, "Morning.."

Fred wrenched open the hangings to find that it was pitch dark in the morning, with the snow relentlessly beating against the glass windows of their dorm. Lee was snoring away, making sounds like pigs snorting, like usual. A pile of presents waited at the foot of their bed to get opened.

"Ah, presents.." George mumbled sleepily, perching on the edge of their bed and dangling down his legs.

There was a bagful of dungbombs from Ron (for them both), assorted packs of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, and Fizzing Whizbees from Lee, a huge book 'All About Quidditch' from Harry (for them both), quite a number of greeting cards from fangirls (all were anonymous) with 'Merry Christmas' written in cursive, neat writings, along with tiny sketches of hearts and cupid's arrows and red lips (for them both), dragon-hide fireproof gloves from Charlie for them both ("That git. Is he mocking me or what." Fred muttered), and their usual package from their mum: new sweaters (Red with a picture of dragon on them), and a large quantity of homemade mince pies.

The morning was spent in their warm Gryffindor Tower enjoying their presents with their friends and siblings, and they proceeded to the Great Hall for lunch that afternoon, a sumptuous affair with hundreds of turkeys and Christmas puddings, and large piles of Cribbage's Wizarding Crackers.

Then they went out onto the grounds covered by untouched white snow, and engaged in a cheerful snowball fight with Harry, Ron and Lee (Hermione preferred to stand by and watch them play and Ginny was with her girlfriends).

"I'm going back upstairs to get ready for the ball," Hermione announced at about five o' clock.

Ron, who was going to aim a snowball at Fred, halted as he heard her, and George used the opportunity to hurl one square on his face.

"What? You need three hours?" he said, voice muffled with snow.

Fred hurled another snowball on Ron's face as he yelled after her, "Who're you going with?"

"Haha! Ickle Ronniekins payed for jealousy!" George laughed at Ron.

And there was a muffled _splat_ as George was hit on his face by Lee.

There was no Christmas tea today, since the ball included a grand feast, so at seven o' clock, when it became too dark to aim properly, they all abandoned their snowball fight and headed toward Gryffindor Tower to get ready for the ball.

Fred, George and Lee changed into their dress robes in their dormitory. Both Fred and George pulled on identical deep navy, so deep that it looked almost black, velvet, second-hand robes their mum had handed them. Lee had on a deep burnt sienna, few shades darker than his chocolate skin, and he, Fred observed with a start, looked genuinely impressive, with his tall, strong frame and dreadlocks, even though he was bouncing like an idiot due to excitement since his dream was finally going to be true: Holding Angelina.

But what forced the air out of his lungs and struck him senseless was the sight of George when he turned around and caught his sight.

He-looked-_gorgeous_.

His beautiful twin was flattening his already straight, shiny, long red hair which fell softly to the base of his neck. His pale features stood out strikingly against the dark velvet material, and his lanky form was more pronounced.

"So, let's go!" Lee piped excitedly, "Angelina, here I _come_!" he said 'come' with an animalistic growl.

No, he wanted to tell George how gorgeous he looked. He _wanted_ to. Right now.

His length was straining against his boxers.

"No, er, you get going, Lee," Fred said while looking in the mirror without seeing a thing, "We'll catch up with you later.."

"Argh! Whatever! Come whenever you please! Oh I _can't wait_ to hold Angelina!" He said breathlessly, and literally ran out of their dorm.

George took his eyes away from the long mirror in the corner absent-mindedly, looking mildly inquisitively at Fred.

Fred strode hastily toward his twin and banged him against the mirror, crushing his mouth to his.

George gave a surprised, muffled whimper, inhaling sharply in shock, and gripped Fred's shoulders frantically.

Fred drew away just as quick as his attack was, "You look gorgeous, love.."

"I..hhn.." George's eyes cracked open, his head resting against the mirror, "Freddie.." he smiled softly, winded, "I look..plain..what difference is there..I've just put on a different attire..."

"You're damn appealing," Fred trailed the tip of his tongue along his love's bottom lip, and stopped to see his blue eyes growing clouded, "And you think you're plain?" Fred whispered seductively, and turned around George so that he was facing the mirror.

"I want you to see how desirable you look when you part these lovely lips," He whispered into his ear as he wrapped his arms around his waist, "I want you to see how fucking delicious you look when I do this.."

To prove his point, he nipped his right ear gently, and moved his lips slowly to the mark on his neck, biting and teasing there, while his hand inched quietly to his long, graceful, smooth neck and caressed it ever so softly.

"Mhmn..hn..Freddie..."

He looked in the mirror to see George with parted lips and half-lidded eyes, gazing vaguely into the mirror, breathing fast, with Fred close behind him, one arm wrapped around his waist securely and a hand resting around his neck. Their hair and their physiques were utterly identical, but what made all the difference was the way George carried himself. He always had a charming, unpretentious air about him which made him lovely.

"My beautiful angel.." Fred whispered lovingly, and slid away his arms from him, stepping back.

"F-Freddie.." his twin smiled coyly, and turned, "You're..what the hell..you're damn unpredictable..."

"Ah," Fred's eyes travelled to his misaligned white bow tie, "Looks like I messed up your bow tie.." and he straightened it up for him, and fastened an undone top gilt button, "There, now, I'm hoping no one would abduct you tonight seeing your prettiness, love,"

George leaned closer and kissed him lightly on his lips, and whispered against his lips, "And I could say the same about you too.."

They exchanged a few more desperate kisses before becoming content, and left their dorm after a few long minutes.

The common room looked really crammed due to the mishmash of different colours of the robes everyone was wearing. Fred winked at Harry as he stood with Parvati Patil, and when they passed Ron, who looked as red as the laces of his frilly dress robes, Fred said, "Have fun!" with a wink. Poor Ron looked close to tears.

They spotted Alicia standing expectantly for George near the portrait hole, wearing mauve robes, and beamed when she saw them, and extended her hand to hold Fred's arm.

"I can't understand how you can like just one of us," Fred smirked, and placed a hand on George's shoulder, "See you later," he said, and left him with Alicia.

Marietta Edgecombe waited anxiously for him near the stairs, wearing a floaty, frilly robes of the palest olive green that it looked almost white, with her dark brown locks falling to her shoulders in sleek curls, framing her rather broad-jawed face. He noticed she had grey-green eyes and slightly crooked, long nose and porcelain features. She looked passably pretty.

"Oh! Hi, Fred!" she said breathlessly, smiling.

"Hi, you..look good.."

"Thanks, and you too. Shall we go down, then?" She reached out to hold Fred's arm, and he let her.

"Yeah,"

The entrance hall was jam-packed with students, some craning their necks to see when the Great Hall's double door's would be thrown open, checking their watches to see if it was eight o' clock or not.

He saw Ron looking bored with an even bored Padma Patil, and he jumped when he saw Fleur Delacour walking in with Roger Davies, and though Fred was gay, even he had to admit that she looked stunning in her silver robes.

Hermione was nowhere to be seen. He had not seen her since she left them that evening.

Malfoy, looking high and mighty in his black velvet robes which made his platinum blonde hair and pale features look abnormally paler, stood with a snooty Pansy Parkinson wearing frilly pale pink robes.

Lee stood chatting with Angelina, who looked pretty in her purple, and a bit revealing, dress robes, and he thought they looked quite the perfect couple, with their matching rich mocha skin tones and tall frames, and genuinely wished if Lee would have some luck with her and not ruin it with his enthusiasm for her. It seemed Lee was managing quite fine right now, because Angelina was occasionally throwing her head back in laughter.

George, unlike him, who, instead of talking with his partner was looking around, was chatting animatedly with Alicia, and he felt an irrational anger. It was totally meaningless and absurd, but he felt angered because he was enjoying his time with Alicia, unlike him, who wished to get rid of Marietta as quick as he could and be back with George. How could he enjoy with some girl while Fred was wishing with his whole heart to be with him..dying to be with him..to speak softly into his ear and hold his waist and dance with him...

_How could you, Georgie?_

He just felt like striding quickly up to him, wrench away his arm from Alicia's grip, turn him around roughly, bang him against some wall, and ask him if he enjoyed flirting with Alicia, then kiss him brutally on those fucking gorgeous lips, and ask him if he would prefer _this_, or chatting so vivaciously and absorbedly with some fucking girl.

Fred was a creep. A dominating, possessive creep.

"Fred? Are you listening?" Marietta asked him from another universe.

"Huh?" he said, eyes still glued on to his twin, who was now laughing boisterously.

_She shouldn't notice how good he looks when he shakes his head and his hair tosses about that way. She shouldn't. And he isn't even looking at me... _

"I said the doors have been opened," she said in a slightly impatient tone.

He turned around to find Marietta looking at him a bit crossly (he noticed her head reached the level of his shoulders), while her eyes flickered once or twice to his back to see what he was staring at.

"Oh, yeah..oh, don't be bothered about what I was looking at..I was just looking at-" _Well, what..um.. _he turned to look at something and lie to her on the spot, "-at those Durmstrang people coming in.."

Because Durmstrang students were trudging up slowly to the entrance staircase, Krum (with a pretty girl clutching his arm) and Karkaroff leading the way.

"Oh! But I can't see them.." she said in a much more pleasant tone.

"Ah, that's because this great big ivy-covered boulder is obstructing your sight.." he said in a feigned cheery voice, indicating Crabbe, wearing green robes, who was standing a bit ahead of her, "Step a bit closer.." he pulled her arm to steer her closer, and she looked much, much more pleasant now.

"See there?" he asked, pointing at the snow clad lawns outside the entrance hall.

She looked, and nodded, now smiling happily, and then her expression turned to that of shocked surprise.

"What?" Fred asked.

"Did you see that girl who's with Krum?" she looked at him with a genuinely surprised expression.

"Um, no.." he said, wondering why girls have such annoyingly exaggerated emotions.

"She's that..oh I forgot her name..that bookworm friend of Harry.."

"Hermione?" Fred asked instantly, incredulous.

"Yeah! That's the one..Hermione!"

Fred looked around once again at the girl wearing periwinkle-blue robes holding Krum's arm, and true enough, she was Hermione.

"Hmm..no wonder she left three hours early to get ready.." he mused.

"Ha! Of course! How else could she look this pretty! She must be having an inch-thick make up on her face!" Marietta said.

And Fred was sure that she was incensed because she might be feeling she was much worthier than Hermione to hold Krum's arm.

"You girls are so predictable.." he chuckled softly, and said "Hush!" with closed eyes when Marietta, looking confused as to what he meant by that, opened her mouth to speak.

An area of the lawn just in front of the castle was transformed into a grotto full of fairy lights, with hundreds of actual, living fairies sitting in the rosebushes conjured there, and fluttering over statues of Father Christmas and his reindeer.

People were inching forward through the double doors and into the Great Hall. Just then, McGonagall's voice called, "Champions, over here, please!" and everyone stopped moving.

Marietta adjusted her sparkling, emerald studded bracelet, beaming, and clutched Fred's arm tightly. He glanced over at where George stood, but he wasn't there.

"Looking for someone, brother?"

"George!" Fred turned to find George smiling at him, standing right behind him with Alicia.

"Ah, get going, Fred..McGonagall's in a rather festive mood.." he nodded at McGonagall (Alicia giggled), who looked as though she would have done anything but stand there wearing dress robes of red tartan. Maybe she hated discarding her usual rigid disposition for a change.

"See you in a minute," he said, and Marietta was already pulling him impatiently.

The crowd parted to let them through. Marietta looked as though she was living her ultimate dream, looking particularly at her friends, grinning proudly.

McGonagall told them to station themselves on one side of the doors while everyone else went inside, and they had to enter the last, in a procession, while everyone had sat down.

Fleur and Roger (who kept on gazing at Fleur, agape), were the nearest to the doors, followed by Harry and Parvati, Krum and Hermione, and the last were Fred and Marietta.

"Kept everything hush-hush, Hermione?" Fred grinned, wiggling his brows, while Krum was looking the other way, and Hermione blushed a little, smiling sheepishly.

"Hi Harry!" she turned to Harry, "Hi Parvati!"

And Parvati was looking at her in overt disbelief, and so was Marietta.

And so was Harry. It seemed as though he noticed her just now.

McGonagall then told the Champions to enter. The Great Hall rang with a round of applause as they entered. The walls of the Hall were covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy criss-crossing the black ceiling. Instead of the house tables were hundreds of smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating around twelve people.

Fred walked with his usual poise, Marietta gripping his arm tightly in thrill, beaming around at her Ravenclaw friends. He caught the sight of George, who gave him a wink and his cute smile, Alicia grinning happily beside him, and he grinned back at them (a bit grudgingly at Alicia).

Dumbledore smiled happily at them all when they reached the top table, sitting at the centre on a high chair, Karkaroff looked bored stiff, _Bagman_ sat wearing ridiculous, bright purple robes sprayed with yellow stars, grinning and clapping madly, and Fred thought his garish, outlandish robes went well with his stupid, irritating personality; Madam Maxime clapped politely with her lavender, silk robes on, _and-_

Instead of Mr. Crouch sat his elder, haughty brother, Percy. (wearing dazzling, brand-new, cerulean robes and an irritating smug expression)

Fred gave a mocking, wide, lopsided grin when he saw him, and Percy reacted by arranging his expression to that of resolute smugness.

Percy drew out a chair for Harry, and looked really pissed when Fred sat on it promptly.

"Ah, Weatherby!" Fred greeted his brother blithely, and Percy's ears turned slightly pink.

Harry settled himself on another chair next to Percy.

"I've been promoted," Percy said before they could say 'what are you doing here', and with an expression of _such_ smugness that it would have made Draco Malfoy proud, "I'm now Mr. Crouch's personal assistant. I'm here representing him." he finished proudly.

"So Weatherby," Fred said, "Surely he must have given you a plaque bearing '_Weatherby: Cherished P.A'_?" he asked very earnestly.

Percy acted as though Fred was talking to the table, though his ears turned a bit more pink.

"Why didn't he come?" Harry asked, lips twitching with a very small smile, as though trying hard not to laugh.

"Surely because he must be pooped after months of struggle to make sense out of a certain cauldron report.." Fred said casually.

"No," Percy had his jaws clenched, "In fact, the reports have been passed to the Ministry. He did not come because he is quite unwell ever since the World Cup-"

Percy closed his eyes in exasperation when Fred interrupted with "But that's what I just said!"

"-_and, _he has been burdened with a lot of work-"

And Percy just made a fool of himself, and Fred said, rolling his eyes, "That was _exactly_ what I said.."

Percy continued on as though Fred did not exist, "Not as young as he was- though still as brilliant, of course, the mind remains as great as it ever was. He says he trusts me to-"

Fred gave a small, deliberate cough.

"To fill in for him and attend the ball, and maybe the other tasks too..if he wont be able to pull through. He's in a bad shape, poor man. He's been tensed because of that house elf 'Blinky', or whatever her name is. I'm glad he gave me this opportunity-"

Fred gave another, this time, a louder cough.

"To fill in for him. I'm happy to be able to serve him when he's in such a dire situation and needs help. He says a reason why he appointed me as his P.A. is because of this very conduct- helping him when he-"

Fred gave the loudest cough.

"Do you need a cough drop, Fred?" Percy spoke to him directly for the first time.

"Oh no!" Fred said heartily, "No, please, no. I've got a Feel-Good-Percylitis cough. You see, this cough, unlike the normal cough, is actually good for your health. Especially for your head," Fred smiled, "And, your ears as well.." he added as an afterthought.

Harry suddenly tried gulping water to stop himself from bursting out laughing, but choked on the water horribly, spitting water onto the table. Fred immediately muttered 'evanesco' and made the table as clean as ever, and saved Harry from embarrassing himself.

There was no food as yet on the golden plates, but small menus were lying around on the table. He saw Marietta reading one carefully. Fred picked his up, and read many unknown French dishes.

"Pork chops!" Dumbledore said clearly to his plate, and his plate was filled with them.

Getting the idea, they all followed the suit.

His plates were filled with goulash, lamb chops, roast turkey, desserts, and some hard-to-pronounce French dishes.

Looking around the table, he saw Krum opening his mouth and speaking for the first time, "Veil, ve haff a castle but not so big as this, I am thinking," he said earnestly to Hermione, who was quite enjoying Krum's company.

Meanwhile, Fleur was criticizing the Hogwarts decorations to Roger Davies.

"Zis is nothing. At ze palace of Beauxbatons, we 'ave ice sculptures all around ze dining chamber in Chreestmas. Ze food is simply superb. And if a poltergeist like ze one 'ere disturbs us zere, we would 'ave expelled 'im like zat!" she slapped her hand on the table, and Roger Davies nodded enthusiastically, staring open-mouthed at her, saying, "Yeah, like that!" he too slapped the table.

Karkaroff was telling off Krum for disclosing too much information about Durmstrang to Hermione, and Dumbledore said, smiling pleasantly, "Igor, all this secrecy..one would almost think you didn't want visitors,"

Karkaroff smiled unctuously, displaying his yellow teeth, "We all guard our private domains, don't we? Are we not right to be proud that we alone know our school's secrets, and right to protect them?"

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of knowing all Hogwarts secrets, Igor," Dumbledore said amicably, "Only this morning, for instance, I took a wrong turning on the way to bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I had never seen before, containing a magnificent collection of chamber pots," and Fred's ears pricked up when he heard this new information. He and his twin took pride in knowing every secret passageway of Hogwarts, and this was something he'd never heard of, or rather, saw in the Marauders Map before.

Dumbledore was saying, "When I went back to investigate more closely, I found that the room had vanished. But I must keep an eye for it. I guess it appears only when it is needed,"

_Only when it is needed, hmm.._

He'd find out the whereabouts of this mysterious room someday with his twin, he thought.

When all the food had been consumed, Dumbledore stood up, asked the students to do the same, and with a wave of his wand, made all the tables zoom to the sides, leaving the floor clear, and then conjured a raised platform along the right wall, on which appeared a set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and some bagpipes.

The Weird Sisters, a musical group, now trooped up onto the stage to a wild round of applause, and the lanterns on the tables had gone out, and he suddenly realized what was coming. He just wanted to get done with this bullshit for once and for all.

Marietta stood by his side, looking up at him when she felt his gaze on her. He offered her his arm, and they walked onto the brightly lit dance floor.

The Weird Sisters struck up a slow, mournful tune.

He gave her a smile as he slipped an arm around her waist and held her hand loosely, and she beamed at him.

"So, you were pretty injured on the first task.." she tried to start a conversation as he steered her through a waltz smoothly.

"No..I just scraped my skin a bit.." he replied seriously, carefully turning in time as he avoided clashing with Lee, who grinned maniacally at him while holding Angelina like some prize, dancing merrily with her, and he grinned back at them both (Angelina was genuinely enjoying Lee's company, and smiled at Fred amicably).

He looked back at Marietta to find that she looked a bit downcast. "Ah, just one of my silly jokes.." Fred said hastily, "Yeah, that was a nasty burn.." he was looking around in hopes of spotting his Georgie, but saw Dumbledore waltzing with Madam Maxime, Ginny wincing in pain as Neville stamped her foot, and Moody hobbling with Professor Sinistra instead.

"Had to lie in the hospital wing for a whole week.." he continued, and then looked back at her.

"Oh, yeah..you were absent from classes for a whole week.. That was a misfortune.." she gave him a sympathetic look.

"Nah!" he grinned, steering her while being careful to hold her loosely so as to not give her _any_ wrong impression in _any_ manner. As much loyalty he expected from George, he expected himself to return the loyalty by the same measure, "It was actually quite fun..how could anyone not enjoy a week free of classes..doing nothing but lie the whole day chatting.." he then looked around once again for his Georgie

_How could anyone not enjoy a week getting pampered by one's lover the whole day..and night..until you fall asleep.. But where _is _my love...?_

Then he spotted him, waltzing merrily with Alicia, talking and laughing with her.

_His_ Georgie's arm around someone else..._his_ Georgie's hand holding someone else's.._his_ Georgie making laugh someone else...

_That git..._

He wasn't listening to whatever Marietta was babbling.

He heard the final, quavering note from the bagpipe with relief. There was a round of applause, and Fred let go of Marietta at once.

"Lets sit down, 'kay.." he said distractedly.

"Oh- but- this is a really good one.." she said as the Weird Sisters struck up a faster song.

"No, it's a real crappy one.." he said, to Marietta's displeasure, and led her away to where he saw his younger brother, Ron, sitting grumpily in his frilly robes, with a grumpier Padma Patil (Fred felt sorry for his brother for once), and Harry, with Parvati.

He looked over impatiently to where George was, and, to Fred's great..-anger-..which would be an out-and-out understatement of what he felt, was still fucking dancing with Alicia, and holding her dearly close at that.

_Fuck Yule Ball, fuck Hogwarts, fuck Maria-whatever, fuck the whole universe..._

Harry looked up at him when they came nearer, and grinned in a very friendly, happy manner, "How's it going?".

Fred did not answer, and was glaring fixedly at a speck of dust on the table.

"You don't mind, do you?" Maria-whatever asked him from the depths of some shithole.

Fred pulled up his head rapidly and glared at her instead, and she sort of cowered, "Er.." she trembled, while a sturdy Durmstrang guy stood near her expectantly.

"No," he ground out.

"Er- Alright, then," she looked scared, "See you around.." and walked away quickly with the sturdy guy.

"Erm.." Harry hesitated, and perhaps he thought it might be a distraction to Fred, and the poor guy said, "That was some nice on-the-spot bashing you gave Percy, Fred.."

"Mhm." Fred made a forced sound with tightly clenched jaws.

_He's still fucking dancing, isn't he?_ Fred looked surreptitiously to where George was dancing with Alicia, and out of the corner of his eye, saw him still dancing.

"Hrrgh" Ron groaned, looking at Hermione dancing with Krum, "She is fucking _fraternizing_ with the enemy.."

And Fred found that he no more felt sorry for Ron.

"So why don't you throw your useless weight clad in this _stupid_, frilly dress on them, knock them both down, stomp Krum's face in and snog Hermione? Why don't you?!" he yelled at Ron, face growing hot and breath quickening with rage, "Why don't you fucking stop moaning like a _fucking_ girl in her orgasm..you fucking look like a girl in this dress as it is!" he vented his anger at Ron, whose eyes filled with tears and face turned red like a tomato.

And he simply did not care if he'd cry like a girl because he insulted him the most rudely since the day he was born.

And then he saw ass-fucking, shit-eating, moronic, son of a bitch Bagman dancing with Prof. Sprout, and decided that it was about time he received a thunderous, fatal hex from his fourteen and half inch rowan wand.

He strode purposefully toward his rotund, bright purple form, and was just five feet away from him when he changed his mind halfway, and suddenly decided to wrench _his_ Georgie from some girl he was dancing so absorbedly with..

He shouldn't let him enjoy for some more time while he'd be busy hexing some useless prick..yeah..it would simply give him more time to enjoy..

He spun around like a maniac, his eyes not seeing the multitude of people surrounding him, since his brain was now set doggedly on finding one single person: George.

His eyes were searching for the person with whom he was, but she was nowhere to be seen. And so was the splendid navy velvet with striking pale features and flaming red hair he was searching madly for.

They were nowhere in the Great Hall.

Fred then sprinted out the Great Hall and into the entrance hall, thinking frantically what could George have possibly left the hall for...searching maniacally for him...

_Why did he leave the castle and went out? Why? Why? Why?_

His heart beat rapidly, his breath coming out in great white puffs in the chilly air outside as he thundered down the entrance stairs and scanned the lengths of the entrance hall from outside.

And then...

At the far corner of the stone wall of the entrance hall, his back to him, his red head bent down, nodding frantically as his face was fused with a girl's, his arms tangled with the girl's, his pale, beautiful hands buried inside the girl's hair, while the girl's hands gripped his graceful neck, his gorgeous, lanky body pressed hard against the girl's, pressing them both against the wall...

Was his Georgie.

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	25. Chapter 25

_And you can't escape that I'm in your dreams like you swim in mine,_

_And you'll live your whole life dreaming your dreams will be free of me,_

_But the truth is, it's pointless._

_(Pointless Forever-Armor for Sleep)_ **Love the song :D (Some songs really help you write!)**

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Fred stood there in the cold December night air, transfixed, his feet rooted to the ground. His heart forgot how to beat, his lungs forgot how to breathe, his muscles forgot how to move..

His brain forgot how to think.

Maybe it was some horrendous dream.

But the chilly air whipping through his hair felt real enough, the unbearable, stabbing ache now slowly replacing his still, shell-shocked heart felt real enough..

The sight in front of him seemed real enough.

He felt shaky...he felt like he was dying...

Maybe he was having a heart-attack, because it was paining like anything.

He clutched his chest with a hand instinctively, and, maybe because he thought he would die of sheer pain if he watched the sight before him any longer, he broke into a sprint...

And ran like a madman...

Far, far away...

Far away from that painful, sickening sight...

Without any sense of where he was running to..

Because he was running blindly..

Blinded by the tears swimming in his eyes, blinded by the rage slowly replacing his shock, blinded by the utter pain he was suffering.

He reached some dark, stone-walled, dank passageway. He was sprinting like an accomplished runner, his legs carrying him with paranormal speed lent by the sheer strength his muscles received due to his tremendous fury.

He was now dashing up a narrow, murky spiral stairs, which spiralled on and on upward endlessly..

And he was flying up the stairs, his feet were barely touching the ground now, because he was climbing at a shocking, superhuman speed. And he wasn't breathing at all...

Sheer rage fuelled him, gave him energy..

Then, he found himself standing on a landing, with a couple of small steps leading to a tiny, open door, which opened into a vast, circular, stone-floored area with the gaping, starry heavens as its ceiling, and stone wall reaching just up to one's neck circling it, with at least four dozens of telescopes perching on the walls.

He stepped out the tiny door onto the stone floor, and started gasping hard.

For at least ten minutes, he stood panting, clutching his chest.

No..

It cant be..

Maybe he hallucinated..

His Georgie..

"M-my G-G-Georgie.." he whimpered, trembling.

The vision of George kissing the girl passionately, pressing them both against the wall, flashed across his mind.

"AAAAAARRGGHH!" he bent double and pulled his hair viciously with both his hands.

George was his, and only his. No fucking cunt in this whole world will have him..

"NO ONE!" he roared, pulling his hair still more violently.

He was so damn filled with rage that his wand vibrated in the inner pocket of his dress robes with the power of angry magic radiating from him.

He whipped out his shaking wand, gripping it in his tightly clenched fist, his knuckles white as bones, while he gnashed his teeth in anger..

"AAAAAAAAARRRGGHHH!" he simply gave a rough flick and a dazzling red light with an instantly conjured pane of glass burst forth his wand, which shattered deafeningly on the stone floor.

"AAAAARRGGH! AAAAARRRGGGH! AAAAAAARGGGH!" he gave flick upon angry flick and mirrors and glasses shattered all around him.

He was conjuring things with the speed of light in his rage, shattering them all around him. He continued on with this until he was gasping hard, and then slumped down his tense shoulders.

George kissing a girl with a passion Fred never received from him.

Why, he was so shy around him..

Fred let out a derisive snort.

So shy around him, so fucking like an angel..

He was poisoning him with his sweet poison..

Maybe it was all a charade from him because he cannot fucking sleep without Fred..he cannot sleep without clinging like a bur on to Fred..

He needed Fred when he had his fucking nightmares.

Maybe that is why.

Yeah, it made sense, it all made sense..

"IT ALL MAKES FUCKING SENSE!"

It made sense why he did not want to get fucked.

Maybe it repulsed him. Maybe it repulsed him to have Fred's cock in his arse.

It repulsed him, because this was all a charade.

If he loved him, wouldn't he love it when Fred would slip in through his sweet entrance, and fill him with his love?

But he did not love him the way he did. He was his fucking twin brother, yeah.

Ha! The way he just fucking said that day that he fell for him hard when he cried like a child.

_He simply said that to make you sleep beside him, so that he could squeeze you tight when he sees you dying in his dreams._

He dreams, doesn't he? He fucking dreams about him because he cares for him, right?

_Then why, my love, why did you try cheating on me? Why, baby, why? I love you so much, darling.._

"WHY?! WHY?!" Fred crumpled down on the cold, hard floor, crying loudly, _wailing...pitifully_..

"W-W-WHY?" tears were streaming down his face in torrents while he held his head in his hands, and curled up into a ball on the cold floor, shaking uncontrollably as he moaned.

_I love you, baby.._

"I l-love y-y-you so m-much, th-then w-why?" he whimpered in between loud sobs.

George kissing the girl frantically while his beautiful hands were lost in her hair..

"NOOOOOOO! AAAAAARRRGGHH!" he squeezed his eyes shut tight, as though it would make the image vanish, but it replayed cruelly in his mind.

His heart ached so painfully that it was better to die than live with this unbearable stabbing sensation as though dozens of knives were slicing through his heart, ripping it to shreds.

His true love did not love him back the way he loved him.

Did not feel the obsession he had for him...the mania, the thirst..the pure, unbounded love for him which filled his soul.

His love liked girls...

And he stood like an obnoxious bloody obstruction in his life, obstructing him from mingling with anyone other than him...binding him forcibly to him..

"B-but I l-love y-you, G-Georgie..."

_But you are nothing but a nuisance for him. You infest his mind and make him dream about you, you taint his body by touching and caressing it while he is dying inside..because it revolts him, repulses him..because you are his FUCKING TWIN..._

_Has it ever occurred to you the way he rarely initiates a kiss..._

_Its you who always jump on him, mesmerized by his beauty..._

"B-but G-Georgie..I..ahh..b-baby..I l-love y-you.."

_Why don't you just die..you worthless piece of shit..die, rather than forcing your useless body on your own twin, who silently suffers your dirty advances on him.._

His hand weakly reached out to grasp his wand lying on the floor beside him.

His life was meaningless..

_Die, brother-fucker, die..._

He clutched his wand in his trembling hand, while tears flowed down his cheeks without any restraint..

And, lying curled on the cold floor, he pointed his wand at himself, and whimpered..

"Av-avad-"

But his wand shook slightly, trying to squirm away from his hand.

"Avada K-ked-"

His wand trembled and spat angry red sparks, trying violently to shoot away from his hand.

"Avada Kedav-"

But his wand ripped itself away from his hand, and flew across the air and fell down with a clatter at least ten feet away from him, refusing to kill its master.

_...I knew I fell hard for you when you cried this morning, baby..._

_...Feddie, you won stop playing wimme..._

..._I could say the same about you..._

George's body pressed hard against a girl, pressing them both against the wall.

"AAAAAARRRRGGHH!" Fred got up from the floor, a resolute idea forming in his mind.

..._Uhn..Freddie..I..s-stroke me..._

_...ahhh..Freddie..I l-love y-you..aaah! Fred!..._

Empty, meaningless words.

The stone walls with the telescopes perching on its top looked strangely inviting, and he was walking toward it..

..._Baby, you don't know how it feels like when I watch you d-die in my dreams, you don't know a thing..._

George kissing the girl desperately..

_...You're still beautiful..._

George giving him roses...

George humming lullaby for him...

_...n-not now, we'll make love, b-but n-not now..._

George kissing him desperately in the first-aid tent..

George kissing the girl desperately..

He was standing with his body pressed to the stone wall, and gazing down from the highest tower of Hogwarts. He could see the tops of trees swaying way below him, snow covered white land at least a two hundred feet below him. The ground was beckoning him to fall into its cold embrace.

His life was meaningless when his true love did not love him back with the same fiery intensity he had for him. His life was worthless when he forced his body and his heart onto his own twin, who was simply pretending to love him to make him content, to satisfy his filthy love, his disgusting thirst for him...

_...what the fuck was that, Fred..._

_...Freddie, I'm so sorry to cause you this pain..I can't stand to see you in pain..._

_...You're my brother..._

_...this is forbidden, unthinkable...proscribed..._

_...you're my world, Freddie..my world revolves around you.._

_..ahh, Freddie..I l-love y-you..aaah! Fred!..._

He placed his palms on the wall, and gripped the edge of the wall, supporting his weight by his arms, and tried heaving himself up.

The times spent with his Georgie were enchanting, magical...

Times spent since the second his soul was created..

They were meant to be together, because they were together right from the start..

..._NO! PLEASE NOT FRED! KILL ME! KILL ME!..._

_...hn..I need f-faster..._

_...what the fuck was that, Fred..._

But they were together from the start because they were twins. And twins aren't meant to be together.

His love for him wasn't a horrendous sin..it wasn't, because he loved him with his whole heart..

But what does it matter now, sin or salvation or whatever..

It doesn't matter anymore..

Not from this moment..

He pulled up his limb, half-perching on the wall. He could see the ground below him welcoming him with its cold arms open wide..

He looked above him. The starry heavens gazed at him benignly. He felt dizzy, and swayed precariously. He felt a giddy euphoria. He was going to die. It would do everyone good. His twin won't have to bear in silence his dishonourable, filthy, dirty approaches anymore..he wont be tied to him..

Fred would fade away. It won't always be fucking 'Fred and George' from now on. Fucking 'Fred' attached with George. George could be his own person. There would be no fucking Fred to restrain him from his wishes.

Fred has to die.

He pulled up his other limb. His mind was content, happy, even.

He gazed longingly at the ground below him. The ground gazed back at him with the same desire.

Fred was going to die.

"FREDDIIEEEEE!"

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**Please review!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Re-tattered: I cannot send you a PM because you are a guest reviewer, so I'm making my point clear here. Fred '_thinks_' that he forced his twin into it, but George wants him with the same intensity he has for him. Guilt lurks somewhere in the depths of his mind because he was the one who kissed him first. But if you read chp. 14, George says that he '_without knowing it was attracted to him all along'_, the way he avoided socializing and was content with just Fred's company, and Fred's kiss stirred the sleeping attraction George had for him to life.**

**I only wanted to show Fred as the more sexual one of the two, who likes to express his love intensely, whereas George is a bit more adoring, and likes to express his love with sweet gestures. And that was what I meant when I used the words 'devil' and 'angel'. (J.K suggests Fred as more rash and impulsive while George as a bit more sane, so I got the idea from there). By wanting to make love with him, he isn't thinking of 'tainting' his twin, but rather 'loving' him. **

'**This feels so right in spite of being so wrong' summarizes Fred's subconscious thoughts.**

**...**

**Guest: Fred tried to kill himself because he, on top of being shattered after what he saw, has the burdening self-reproach of forcing the relationship on his twin (NOT of loving him). I thought it would only be sensible that he, though on the conscious level, has an unquenchable love and desire for his twin, has a deep guilt, and doubt in the authenticity of George's love as more than a brother, inside him, which jumps up at vulnerable moments. I wanted to show him as an extremely confused guy, torn between his love for his twin and remorse as he 'feels' that he forced the relationship. In this manic, mad moment, he isn't thinking of hurting George, but rather freeing George of his dependence on him and let him follow his wishes without him to hold him back from it.**

**...**

**Well, Fred is quite mad right now. So, beware! Poor, poor George.**

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He felt his arms wrapping around his waist in a vice-like grip, like strong iron fetters. He yanked him backward roughly, and they tumbled down on the stone floor of the Astronomy Tower. Fred lay on his back on top of his twin, kicking and struggling viciously as they hit the floor.

"Freddie! Freddie! Calm down, baby! Freddie!" his twin's voice was panic-stricken as he gripped his upper arms tightly, trying to stop him from flailing about his arms.

Fred was kicking his legs with renewed vigour instead, and thrashing his body about, as though going through spasms.

"LEAVE ME! LEAVE! DONT TOUCH ME! DONT!" he roared and kicked and thrashed.

Anger was returning with a formidable wave, filling his every nerve, every cell, every fiber. It felt as though he would explode with this monstrous fury he never knew he had in him.

"Freddie! Listen! Fred! Stop it! Calm down, Freddie! Listen!"

Fred pulled his arms aggressively from his twin's grip, and in one fluid motion, turned around and gripped his twin's arms, hoisting him up roughly.

"YOU!" Fred was struggling to breathe, because his throat was constricting due to utter rage. It was as though he was possessed by some demonic spirit.

"Fred!"

He could not see how terrified his twin was, because he was blinded by rage.

"AARGH!" he banged his twin against the wall. Hard.

"Fred! Please listen!"

_Wham!_

He gave him a bone-shattering punch on his jaw with his tightly clenched fist.

"Fred!"

_Slap!_

He slapped him hard across his face. Then gripped his shoulders tight, and shook him roughly, while roaring like an animal.

"Fred!"

His twin then doubled over, while his breath came out in a single wheeze, because he just thrust forth his knee hard onto his stomach.

"YOU! H-HOW COULD YOU?! H-HOW _DARE YOU_?! he roared at his face, while shaking him relentlessly.

His twin's face then contorted into acute enragement as he struggled against his grip, and they shoved and wrestled with each other, struggling for dominance, arms meeting arms in frenzy, nails clawing and tearing at skin in their mad struggle, while panting hard into each others' faces.

"JUST FUCKING LISTEN, FRED!" his twin yelled while fighting him back.

Fred couldn't even speak due to the wrath boiling his blood. His only aim right now was to batter his twin as much as he could.

Then, his twin successfully gripped both his wrist with a hand, while his other hand struck him hard across his face, stinging his cheek. Stars danced in front of his eyes, his nose felt sickeningly numb with pain, and his ear rang with a buzzing sound.

His baby brother hurt him for the first time in his life.

"I WAS LYING UNCONSCIOUS IN A ROOM! I CAME RUNNING INTO THE GREAT HALL LIKE A MADMAN, SEARCHING FOR YOU! YOU WERE NOT THERE! I ASKED AROUND, AND-" he stopped to gasp with a sob, "-A B-BOY SAID HE SAW YOU RUNNING INTO THIS T-TOWER!" and he broke down, weeping hard as he slid down slowly onto the floor.

Fred stood there for a few seconds like a sculpture carved out of ice. His twin's outburst simply bounced off his head, not making any sense.

He felt George gripping his legs now. He was clutching on to his legs, resting his beautiful head against a leg, sobbing uncontrollably, whimpering, "It w-wasn't me..Freddie..d-darling..it wasn't m-me.."

His words were slowly sinking in. But it still did not make any sense.

But his Georgie was crying now, leaning into his legs.

He hurt his twin.

And tears of downright shame and pain rolled down his cheeks.

He laid hands on his love in his uncontrolled, violent fury.

He crumbled down beside his shaking twin. George opened his arms in one swift movement, and before he knew it, he was engulfed in his warmth. His love was squeezing him as tight as he could.

"Freddie, oh no..oh Merlin..Freddie.." he was shaking frenziedly, his sobs muffled against his shoulder.

He stooped so low. He was appalling. He laid hands on his Georgie.

"Oh Merlin..what would've h-happened i-if I.." his twin cried loudly into his shoulder, shaking with each pitiful groan.

He was a horrible brother. He laid hands on his Georgie.

He shouldn't have touched even a hair on his Georgie even if he bloody slept with a girl.

It was his bloody problem that he was so damn infuriatingly possessive. He should curl up into some corner with his fucking problem rather than hit his twin so brutally.

"I- Georgie..I'm.." he whimpered, staring into his love's damp hair, shame filling his body.

"Oh Freddie..my love.." George broke the hug suddenly and started kissing his face frenziedly, cupping his face strongly in his hands.

Fred started breathing fast in surprise and ecstasy, yes, ecstasy; even in this horrible situation, his twin's kisses turned him on.

"Freddie..I love you so much.." his twin kissed his lips repeatedly, "Oh what w-would've h-happened if I-" he could not complete the statement, because he was moaning wretchedly against his lips.

"G-Georgie.." he whispered brokenly against his lips, and their tears and breaths mingled as they kissed frantically, holding on to each other like lost children.

Fred looked into his love's tear-streaked, distraught face, and cried as he wiped his tears gently.

"I'm h-horrible..I'm s-sorry, Georgie.." he caressed him softly where he hit him, "I'm so sorry..f-forgive m-me, please.." he whimpered ruefully, sobbing hard as he kissed his jaw.

"A-and I am t-too.." George caressed his face lovingly.

George moaned in grief and relief and exhaustion. So many feelings were coursing through Fred too. He felt relieved, loved, loving, sorrowful, rueful...

"Promise me, love," George's blue eyes suddenly burned with a fiery passion and obsession, "promise me," he pushed Fred down onto the floor gently, and straddled him impatiently.

George moved his lips slowly against his, breath extremely ragged, while his tears were flowing onto Fred's cheeks, mingling with his own tears.

"I w-want you t-to promise me, love.." George whimpered as he moved his lips to his cheek, and captured Fred's tears. His breath felt warm and soothing against his cheek as he whispered, "that you won't ever.." and George cried, "y-you w-wont, ahh..y-you w-w..." George was crying hard, his body shaking against his as his pale, beautiful hands buried themselves in his hair, while Fred, trembling against him in just the same manner, held him close, valuing him more than his own life.

"I..p-promise y-you, my love.." Fred cried, "I promise that I'll..n-never leave y-you.." he stopped because he was finding it difficult to speak, words choking in his tightened throat as tears flowed freely, "Th-that I'll v-value m-my life f-for y-you..."

And they did not speak a word after it, because they lay twined on the stone floor, with the gaping, starry heavens gazing at them knowingly and approvingly, the cool wind caressing them quietly, and trees rustling below them happily..

Crying away their worries, their apprehensions, their doubts, guilt..

And embraced their beautiful incestuous relationship, their hearts free of plaguing doubts.

* * *

**Haruhi Lawiet's right once again! I created this incident for character development. :) And so is GeorgieForever. :P**

**Please review!**


	27. Chapter 27

They made love that night.

And there was not even a tiny trace of lust...there was just pure love...

They started slow and gentle..

Careful to observe every tiny detail of each other's body.

To caress and adore and cherish every part, bit by bit, with extreme care...

Fred kissed every freckle on his love's face..

George's lips caressed his eyelids endlessly as he whispered his love for him.

Fred's palms felt his love's silken back, memorizing the rise of his shoulder blades and the way it angled in toward his spine, the way he could feel his spine curving all the way to his tail bone, the way his lean muscles rippled as he moved his arms.

George's teeth found out how Fred's nipples hardened when he nipped it lightly..his fingers found out how Fred's goosebumps felt grainy against them as they trailed gently over his thighs.

Fred thought that the most beautiful melody in this world is his love's sighs and gasps when he let his hands roam over and around his groin, when he caressed his arse with an entire palm, and realised how smooth and toned they were.

George told him that he looked beautiful when he moaned and shook as he fondled his shaft.

Fred found out how his love arched his back and whimpered when he circled a finger around his navel and nipples while their tongues were entwined inside their fused mouth.

George made him lie on his stomach. He whispered that he wanted to taste his back, to knead and loosen his muscles and make him feel good.

Fred rubbed his shaft against the mattress and sighed and moaned into the pillow as George sat on him rubbing and kneading his back while occasionally giving him wet and warm caresses with his tongue.

Fred then wasn't able to take this sweet torture anymore. He murmured against the pillow that he wanted to feel his love sliding through his hole.

George gasped that he wanted to prepare him before that.

His love moved his heavily lubed fingers in his entrance with such great care, while asking him worriedly if it hurt, and kissed and caressed his back so tenderly to relax his tense muscles, that his heart swelled with love for his twin, and he felt just pure ecstasy instead of pain.

He moved inside him, slow and careful, while he asked him if he was doing it right or not, and when Fred said that he was doing it fucking right, that he wanted more, his love gasped that he loved him fucking very much and began to move faster.

Fred's hand moved to his hard shaft so that he could jerk in time to his love's deep thrusts, so that he could moan in pleasure with his love.

His love then gripped his waist tight as his walls fell and his pace increased alarmingly, and leaned closer to his neck to hit the bundle of nerves more accurately, which made Fred scream, and his love groaned his name again and again into his ear with each deep thrust.

Fred felt that this was the most wondrous feeling..to feel his true love stretching him so wide, reaching so deep in him, hitting his sweet spot so perfectly, ramming so hard into him.

Their combined wild screams filled their little enclosure: their four poster with the drawn curtains, surrounded by double silencing charm cast by them both.

Fred spilled into the mattress first, crying out his love's name as he got blind and stars danced in front of his eyes.

George came the next as he whimpered his name, spilling deep inside him, filling him to the brim.

"Freddie, m-my love.." George gasped hard, "C'mere, sweetheart..I want you so close to me, darling.." he slid an arm around Fred's lithe, slender waist and pulled him gently to turn him around.

Fred, drenched in sweat and panting, turned hurriedly and burrowed into his love's heated, soaked chest, and hugged him like a baby, "I love you, I love you Georgie..."

They lay, beautifully naked and tenderly twined in each others' arms, while their identical long legs were tangled in a confusing jumble; and breathed heavily until the after-effects turned into afterglow, hammering heart slowed down to a gentle, fond beating, and heat simmered down to warmth.

"I cannot even express how much I love you, Freddie.." George whimpered in a choked, emotional voice.

Fred's eyes filled with tears for the umpteenth time that night, and he replied in an identical voice, "And I- I'll love you till eternity..I'll love you for all I'm worth- like mad..I'll.." he was crying, "I'll protect you..I love you.." he said whatever came to his mind, "I'll do anything for you..you're my..m-my..life..you're everything.."

They shed some more tears until they were content. Tonight, they won't sleep.

Fred then spoke after what felt like at least half an hour of silence filled with loving caresses and small sniffs, "What exactly happened, love?". He realized he was confounded by the night's events.

George spoke in a mildly perplexed, depressed tone, "I was with Alicia..talking about our canary creams and all.. laughing at her when she said she was the one who ate apple pie that day.. then I looked at you, you were talking with Marietta..pointing at the lawns outside.." he stopped to sniffle, and Fred rubbed his back with utmost love.

"Then you were looking for me when you were called, and I was there just behind you, right? And I watched you walk up to the table..I watched you irritating Percy.." he chuckled a little, and Fred smiled against his chest, loving the way his endearing little half-laugh-half-whimper sounded, marvelling at the way his love noticed it all..

"And then you danced with Marietta while I held Alicia reluctantly, wishing if I could've been there with you in place of Marietta..and then I realized I did not feel like dancing at all..I realized my heart bled when I thought how we are not able to express our love publicly..how we hide our love from the world like rebels hiding some deadly weapon.. how our love is so foul and dirty for others that we are compelled to stifle and silence it in front of others.. while it is so beautiful, so damn better than other's.."

He fell into a contemplative silence, and Fred's heart filled with joy as he thought how there were no secrets between them, how they could express their thoughts without feeling any hesitation, unlike any other couple in this world..

Fred's heart sang with joy as he heard his love's thoughts on their relationship..

"So I told her I did not feel like dancing.. she seemed unhappy but I did not give a fuck.. and I watched you smiling and dancing with Marietta, you grinning happily at Lee and Angelina as they passed you.. and I thought, as I grinned stupidly, standing there watching you.. that at least you're enjoying.. and I made my way to where they served butterbeers.. thinking I'll wait for you there.."

Fred wriggled up to reach the level of his love's face, and George adjusted his arms around him to hold him comfortably.

"And then?" Fred asked like an eager child asking his Granny to say what happened next after bunny jumped out the fence to escape from tiger.

George played with his hair, as his brows knitted slightly and he chewed his bottom lip lightly, "I made to grab a butterbeer. But someone tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around to see there was no one, and so shrugged it off and took a swig..then I remember nothing, Freddie..nothing until I found myself lying on the floor in an empty, dark dungeon..you know, the one near the portrait of Ernie the Earnest..."

Fred absorbed this all with rapt attention, slowly realizing that in that case, George wasn't the one who was dancing with Alicia.

"Baby, that means someone spiked your drink with something while you looked the other way.." he said with a dawning realization, caressing his jaw where he hit him, he realized painfully, and caressed his sore cheek, still imprinted with a red palm. His lips reached it easily since he was millimetres away from his face, and kissed there for the millionth time that night.

"Mhm..and then I had a feeling that something's wrong..why was I lying dishevelled in an empty dungeon, where were you, what happened..so many questions raced around in my mind, Freddie..

"So I ran out as fast as I could, looking for you, thinking if you too were lying unconscious somewhere or not..then I thought it'd be wise to check if you're in the Great Hall first. So I hurried and reached there and scanned the hall to find that you were not there..and I was just confirming my suspicion that you must be lying out cold somewhere, and was going to inform someone so that we could search for you when I saw Ron crying..

"I panicked, Freddie..I thought maybe it had something to do with you..so I asked him about you, and he just yelled at my face, telling us both to get lost from his life. I was going to bash him when Harry said you blew your top and insulted him.."

"Oh Georgie, I was angry because I thought you were the one dancing with Alicia like there's no tomorrow.." Fred said, experiencing a sort of jubilation when his mind repeated it to him that it wasn't his Georgie.. "So it was some fucking son of a whore who polyjuiced into you that danced with Alicia..and snogged her.." Fred said, anger lacing his every word as he thought he'd bash the one who used George to misrepresent, this second, if he'd only know who it was.

"Yeah, Freddie..I was struggling to make sense of why you lost your cool so bad that you made Ron cry..I mean, you never even hurt a fly, you never intend to cause anyone serious harm unless they bother you unbearably..you never step out of your line with our jokes and make anyone _cry_, Freddie..it was just so unlike you, so I knew something was horribly wrong..

"And that was when Alicia came sashaying with a sort of salacious grin and tried pulling me into a kiss..and I was, like, horrified, thinking why was everyone barmy this night..and I asked her what the fuck was that-

_Hmm, your favourite line..._Fred thought with a doting smile as he kissed him lightly on his moving lips.

"-And then she said that I fucking-" George moved his lips rapidly against his.

"Kissed her." Fred completed it for him.

"Mm, and then it all clicked, Freddie.." and George suddenly pulled him into a deep kiss, inhaling deeply through his nose. He kissed him for a minute and pulled away, whispering, "It clicked why you lost your cool, and-" he pressed his lips against his fiercely once again, "-and judging by your possessive nature-" he leaned to kiss again when Fred grinned sheepishly, and George stopped and murmured, "What?"

"You say I'm possessive?" Fred asked, grinning.

"What did you think, that I don't know about it, git.." George murmured as he kissed.

"Hmn, so.." Fred whispered, still smiling.

"So, Merlin..I was seized by horror, baby. I knew something was really wrong..I had this ugly feeling, you know, like, the feeling you get when we're caught doing a prank by mum..multiply it by a thousand, and you'll get a fair idea of what I felt –stop smiling Freddie this is a serious discussion- yeah...so I was running around like mad, asking people if they saw you, and then a-"

But Fred silenced him with the hundredth deep kiss of that night. He pulled away to find George's eyes closed and breath quickened. He looked wickedly beautiful.

"Baby..I know what happened after that.." Fred whispered, and they switched exchange of words with exchange of love, rocking their bodies gently to a flowing rhythm of their own combined music of heartbeats and heated breaths once again..

Which turned fiery, because Fred dominated this time..

This time Fred entered his twin violently, roaring out his love's name as he rocked his hips madly, screaming whatever coherent thing came to his mind in his half-trance state, yelling that his love was tight, warm and good, yelling to clench around him more, telling his love to scream his name once more..

He forced open his eyes, because he wanted to see his love reaching orgasm as he pounded him rapidly into their mattress, as he fucked him senseless face to face..

"Mmm- Ah!" his love let out a quick whimper as he hit his sweet spot with a huge force.

"Holy fuck! Sweet Merlin! Yes! _Yes!_" George threw his head back and screamed as he hit his sweet spot again and again.

"Hn, fuck baby! Make me come! Make me come!" Fred was driven overboard as his love's walls were tightening rapidly around him.

George was nearing his orgasm. He was jerking himself off, bouncing up and down in harmony to Fred's aggressive thrusts, forcing Fred's shaft to ram deep into him.

"Aaaaah! Aaaahhh! Aaaahh! Fred!" his blue eyes rolled back, exposing just slits of pure white as he slipped into a trance.

Fred was trying to hold on a bit more..just a bit more..

George went through vigorous spasms as orgasm ripped through him, and spilled with one last groan.

Fuck, George's walls tightened amazingly around him, pushing him to delirium. His muscles turned extremely taut, his thrusts turned sloppy, his vision darkened and his breaths turned shallow..

He wasn't breathing at all..

"GEORGIEAAARRGGHH!"

He emptied himself deep inside his love, and pulled out with a small groan, and slumped down, utterly spent, on to a whacked George.

George's legs were still lifted, spread wide-open, wrapped around his waist, eyes still closed, arms limp at his sides. He wasn't even able to move. Except for the rapid rise and fall of his chest as he struggled to breathe, he was completely still.

Fred too lay still for a long time, limp body against limp body, pressed hard onto the mattress, gasping against George's heated, soaked, pulsing neck. He could literally taste his strong vanilla scent now as he gasped in lung-fuls of air through his open mouth.

For a few long minutes, the only sound filling their safe little hideaway was of their deep gasps and pumping hearts.

"Y-you're quite..heavy, Freddie..though you look so lean.." he murmured finally.

"Oh! Ohh, I'll move.." but George's legs were still wrapped around his waist, "Move your legs, baby.."

George slowly untangled his legs, and winced in pain as he lowered them slowly.

"Was I rough, Georgie?" he asked sheepishly as he slid off him and snuggled closer to him. George slowly turned, wincing as he did, and tucked an arm under his while his other arm rested limply above his head.

"A bit.." George smiled with half-lidded eyes.

"I- oh..I'm so sorry, love-" he said, concerned.

"No, don't be silly.." he smiled serenely, "I liked it.."

After a few more minutes of comfortable silence, Fred's stomach rumbled. George was lying quite still beside him, eyes half-closed and face tranquil.

Fred shifted around to grab his watch lying somewhere below their pillow. He slipped a hand under the pillow and felt around for it, grabbed it, and peered at it. Hell, it was 4.21 am.

"Looks like we spent the whole night talking and making love, sweetheart.." Fred said, "And I'm feeling damn hungry now.." he looked over at George.

He was looking really tired as he pulled up his lips into a tiny smile, his eyes still half-lidded, "Hn..then go and nick some food, love.." he said sleepily.

"Aren't you feeling hungry? After all this love-making.." Fred grinned as he straightened and now sat upright beside his sprawled, stark naked, beautiful twin. His eyes inadvertently checked out how chiselled, lean and perfectly proportioned features he had.

"Yeah.." he said tiredly, "But, I don't feel like walking now, Freddie.." and he yawned, "J-just feel like..lying down.." and he heard George's stomach give a rumble distinctly.

"Ah, shut up, you.." George frowned and patted his hollow stomach weakly, "Hm..maybe you can bring some for me too.." he added weakly.

But Fred suddenly had a mischievous idea.

"Geoorrgggieee.." he crooned as he bent and gathered up his twin's tired form in his arms, and George now half-opened his sleepy blue eyes in mild surprise. "W-what?" he mumbled, blinking slowly.

"I'll carry you down to the kitchen with me, love.." he said, grinning.

"What..no..you're loony.." George mumbled as he rested his head on his shoulder snuggled into him, and yawned into his ear.

"Hm, am I?" Fred murmured as he kissed his tousled red hair and ran a finger over the curve of his soft, pale neck. He placed a finger under his chin and lifted his face up. He looked so cute, with his slightly puckered brows and closed eyes.

"Let's get clothed now, shall we?" Fred said softly.

"_Mmm_.." George moaned groggily in protest.

He lay him back down carefully, as though he was some fragile glass, pulled out his wand from under their pillow, gave it a flick and cleaned up their mess, gave another flick and made George's boxers slip through his long legs happily, while he pulled open the hangings in front of him a crack, leaned out and dangled his head upside-down from the bed, and pulled out George's trunk (his trunk was under his bed, which was always unoccupied save for the circumstances when they go to bed while Lee's awake, which rarely happens).

He pulled out their shirts and pants and got dressed. He looked over at George, and he was still lying down. His boxers were stuck right below his arse, trying hard to wriggle up.

"Lift your lazy ass, Georgie.." he chuckled.

"Freddie.." George raised himself up a bit, frowning, and his boxers snuggled contentedly around him, "You're crazy.." he repeated, and winced slightly.

"What, is it hurting because I.." Fred leaned over to him edgily.

"Um.." George looked at him seriously, "Dont start freaking out or something, kay..I..sort of have _teeny tiny_ little cramps in my stomach.."

Fred's expression turned horrified as he suddenly realized he had kicked him hard in his stomach last night, and then fucked him hard on top of that.

"Hn..I- oh fuck! Oh God! Oh no!" Fred's lips trembled and his eyes went wide, "Oh shit, Georgie! I- I am an idiot! A fucking, complete _idiot_!" he hurried and lifted him up in his arms, grabbed his wand lying on the bed and flicked it impatiently, and made his clothes fly up to him, pants slipping through his legs swiftly and shirt wrapping themselves speedily around his torso, buttoning themselves within a blink of an eye.

"Freddie," George frowned disapprovingly, "I said not to freak out, right?" but his tone was dead tired. He was bloody concealing his pain, he was concealing it right up to this moment, acting as though he was simply tired, and Fred knew it very well. He was on the verge of tears now, panic seizing him.

Fred did not think twice before he wrapped his arms around his waist and hoisted him up in one fluid motion, throwing him over his shoulder as he held him securely around his waist.

"Freddie, its okay..I'm fine, Freddie..its nothing..its only a small pain..it'll go away when I'll have something to eat.." he argued in a tired voice, but Fred was descending the spiral stairs to the common room carefully, George hanging over his shoulder limply with his arms around his neck, head resting on his shoulder and legs dangling loosely in front of him, his feet brushing against Fred's shin.

_You're gormless. You're a fool. You're a moron. You don't think before you act. You bloody reckless idiot.._Fred cursed himself whole-heartedly as he hurried out the portrait hole and through the corridor, then turned a corner and carefully stepped down the grandstairs to first floor hospital wing passageway, George's limp legs swinging and gently hitting against his rapidly moving limbs.

"Georgie," his voice came out hysterical, "Georgie..you're not speaking, baby..its hurting too much, isn't it? That's why you're not even able to speak.." he breathed hard, mostly because he was cracking up rather than being tired of carrying George's limp weight.

"No.." George said feebly, "I'm fine.."

"You're- oh darling, don't be so sweet.." Fred's eyes blurred with tears, "You could've stopped me from making love if your stomach hurt because I bloody kicked you..Oh I'm so _horrible_!"

"N-no, its not that..Freddie.." George whispered into his ear wearily.

"It is! It is! Oh Merlin, I should be given some stringent punishment for hurting my baby.." he neared the hospital wing doors, which was closed.

"Oh! She might be snoring away right now!" Fred literally screamed in frustration, and walked few feet forward hurriedly and rounded a corner to a small passageway adjacent to the wing where he knew the matron's office was, which too was closed.

He did what a thoroughly strung-up human being would do: he banged his fist on the door while hitching up George securely with an arm, which was straining under his weight.

"Open! Please open the door!" he yelled manically while banging the door loudly with all his might.

He heard scraping of chairs and shuffling of feet from inside, and then rapidly approaching footsteps, and the door flew open; a dishevelled Madam Pomfrey stood, puffy eyes widening as she saw the sight before her.

"What in Merlin's name happened now?!" she shrieked worriedly.

"His stomach's hurting badly! Please do something quickly!" Fred said frenziedly.

She bustled out of her room without another word, hurrying in front of them, and Fred trailed behind her, holding George tight, one arm supporting his weight and other hand grasping his neck firmly, as though holding a tot.

"Is it because of indigestion? Or something else?" she asked urgently.

_Shit, what to tell..._

"Er, no..its because he fell off his bed and hit his stomach on his trunk which was unfortunately sitting there on the floor right where he fell.." he lied quickly.

The doors of hospital wing creaked open with just a tap of her wand, and they entered into the very familiar, long, rectangular room, now dark, with single beds in neat rows on either side, and huge latticed windows adorning the walls. Madam Pomfrey hastily told Fred to make George lie down as she hurried inside through a door at the far end of the room.

Fred leaned down slowly and gently laid him down on a bed. He looked weary, with pasty skin and clammy forehead and neck, and shut eyes.

"Georgie, is it hurting too bad? You're so pale, love.. Oh Merlin.. Georgie, I'm so sorry.. All because of me.. Say something, love.." Fred's brows were knitted together tightly and his lips trembled slightly as he spoke.

"Hn..a bit..Freddie..its nothing, d-dont worry.." he barely moved his lips as he murmured.

Fred thought that he'd go insane with the problems which seemed to follow him so doggedly these days. It was as though their love was being tested through trials and tribulations.

Yes, the way they were followed by one trouble after another since the day he fell in love with him.

Fred thought, as he looked into his beautiful lover's face, with a fierce determination that they would stand through the tests and surmount them, then.. no matter how gruelling they were.

Madam Pomfrey hurried over to them with a vial of pink, foaming liquid, and tipped the contents into George's mouth.

They waited anxiously, and then colour slowly returned to George's face. He cracked opened his eyes, and smiled at Fred, "Git, I told you not to worry.." he sounded much better now.

"What is it with you two these days? You are frequenting my wing rather than Filch's office," she said, smiling slightly, "And which one of you is this, Fred Weasley again?"

"No," George said, "This time he got the chance to know my weight.." he grinned, "hmm, or should I say, his own weight.." he laughed quietly.

Madam Pomfrey smiled at them in a motherly fashion, "I'd say you must lie down here for a few minutes, maybe half an hour? Now, as much as I like you two troublemakers, I must say that you shouldn't make it a habit of visiting my ward.." she smiled warmly, "You know where to find me if the need arises.." and she turned to leave.

"You just scared me out of my wits, Georgie.." Fred said, smiling lovingly at his twin, stroking his cheek, "and that pun about my own weight..you think we weigh the same..?"

"Nah, I take back my words..you were wheezing and stumbling while holding me.." George grinned.

"Hm, you should eat less and make love with me more, then.." he murmured as he trailed a finger along his jawline.

"Git," George laughed as he grabbed his hand and kissed his fingers.

Fred's stomach gave a rumble once again, reminding him he was hungry after making love intensely the whole night.

"I'll bring something for us from the kitchen, love..you'll be alright, wont you?" Fred asked his twin.

"Mhm.." his love smiled.

Fred sped downstairs through the grandstairs and into the dungeon passageway and reached the familiar, torch-lit, bright and warm passageway to the kitchen, yelled for an elf as he entered (they were all sleeping in their indoor quarters. They never fail to come running when called even in the middle of the night). Fred and George knew most of the house elves due to their frequent visits, and are loved by them all (they all loved their canary creams, and they even gave them some for free).

A house elf named Stubby, one of their beloved, came running, squeaking, "Oooh! Master Fred! What can Stubby do for Master Fred?" he asked excitedly with bright, orb-like golden eyes trained on him.

"I want kippers, bacons, eggs, toasts, muffins, a nice big goblet of pumpkin juice, two empty glasses," he rattled off instantly, not bothering to say even a 'hello'. (Well, they never bother).

He returned to the hospital wing, which felt like home, with his arms laden with all the foodstuffs, and settled on the wooden chair beside George, who was beaming at him.

"You do know we'll have breakfast later, right? Why did you bring breakfast for the whole of Hogwarts with you?" he grinned as Fred sat setting it all on the table.

"Git, stop talking and start eating before your stomach starts aching with hunger now.." he said as he digged in greedily.

"Oh how I wish I knew who did that to you, Georgie.." Fred said as he stuffed muffins into his mouth, "After you turned around to look at who tapped you, did you look sideways then, maybe the moron was standing right beside you.."

George rolled his eyes, "Yeah, but..there were dozens of people crowded there, Freddie..it could have been anyone..maybe the prat just stuck in his hand between two people, dropped whatever he used to conk me off into the butterbeer, and slunk off before anyone would even notice..besides, most people standing there were tipsy as it is after downing barrels of firewhiskey and mead.."

Fred was brooding over the matter...

_Who would do such a thing?_

"Freddie.." George gave him a pat on his shoulder as he sighed resignedly, "Lets just leave the topic, alright? I wasn't the one, its all cleared..I'm going to clear the matter with Alicia today..tell her I wasn't the one who kissed her so she could forget whatever fantasies she had about me..and everything'll be back to normal.."

"No, but I can't leave this topic just like that, it caused us so much of trouble..I was going to fucking commit suicide!" Fred said angrily.

_I must find out who did this and pound him to a pulp.._

"But," Fred said, another puzzling thought arising in him, "If you fell unconscious right there after drinking the butterbeer, wouldn't other people have noticed it.." then Fred was hit by a realization, "Georgie..it means you were forced into walking into the room by yourself without your knowledge..something like the imperius curse.." Fred looked at his twin with wide eyes.

George was staring into his eyes, slowly taking in what he just said, "Hmm, yeah..I'll have to agree with you there,"

"What kind of potion did the freak use, then? Not a knock-out potion, or a soporific potion, or a love potion..no that would just make you snog someone senseless without knowing it...not walk toward some place. Well, what if it _was_ a love potion," Fred said with knitted brows, thinking hard, "Maybe you followed the freak into some room? But then you fell unconscious..how? And the freak pulled out your hair while you were knocked out for polyjuicing himself.." Fred looked at George to hear his opinion.

George was chewing his lip, a habit he had while thinking hard, "Hmm, maybe.. oh what wouldn't I give to know who the culprit was.." he said in a gloomy voice, "If I only knew who played such a stinking, stupid joke I'd fling him to a pack of hungry wolves."

Fred was thinking hard, and an idea suddenly hit him.

"Georgie..we'll ask Madam Pomfrey if she knows some way to detect the culprit by performing some spell or something on you.." he looked at him keenly.

George's expression was thoughtful, "Hmm, sure.." he nodded, "It'll be great if she'll be able to find out.."

So they dragged Madam Pomfrey out of her office once again after they had their little breakfast, and relayed everything to her (except the part of suicide attempt and sex).

She sat looking from Fred to George and back again, "Hmm, this sure looks like a common case of teenage wild antics on special festive occasions.." she said, her brows knitted in concentration as she contemplated.

"Well," she said suddenly, "Its been hardly eight hours since you had the drink, Mr. Weasley-" she was looking at Fred, and he mutely pointed at George, and she turned her gaze to him, "-Mr. Weasley. There are no known spells to reveal the maker of a potion by performing spells on the recipient..And, as you know..there's just _priori incantato_ to reveal the last spell cast by a wand. But that's a totally different case.." she had her lips pursed up in thought.

"Hmm, maybe I could examine your blood for traces of the potion, and perform rigorous spells on it to force out the source of the potion.." she said broodingly.

Fred and George exchanged quiet, pensive looks.

"Yes..that's the only way I could find out, Mr. Weasley. But it will take me more than a month to come up with a result, since it is a bit complicated process. Are you sure you want to find out?" she looked at them carefully.

"Yes," they both said together instantly.

""Very well, then. I need you to sign a parchment for me, Mr. Weasley. I'll forward it to the headmaster, acquire his consent, and inform you when I'll receive his nod, alright? Wait here, then. I'll get the parchment.." and she shuffled off.

"Hm, that sounds good, doesn't it?" George turned to Fred.

"Sure it does," Fred said, "Ah, but we'll have to wait for a bloody month..I wanted to belt the bastard right now.."

George said after a few minutes of comfortable silence, "We're not giving even a single thought to that golden egg, Freddie...caught up by all this turn of events.."

"Dont worry, we'll think something about it.." and Fred felt drained, "We'll think about that when we won't be so sleep deprived and done in.."

Madam Pomfrey came with the parchment, which was a sort of permission-appeal complete with the Hogwarts insignia, and George scrawled his sprawling signature at the bottom of the parchment with a quill she gave him.

They went to their dorm, and decided to take a small nap for an hour (they slept alone in their own beds, because they were sure Lee would be awake after an hour).

As they were seated in the Gryffindor table for breakfast, Fred noticed Alicia's eyes darting toward George now and then, and he realized a thing: after what happened last night, he felt surer about his Georgie. In fact, he could trust him blindly now..

So the old stabbing sensation of unwarranted jealousy which he used to feel before diminished to just a tiny, prickling, itchy feeling in his heart.

George cornered her after the breakfast and cleared her misconception that he had kissed her. She looked a bit dazed for a few seconds, then simply laughed good-naturedly, "Well, I should've known it..the look you had when I tried kissing you later. And you could never like anything other than your pranks and your twin.." and Fred felt a chill course through him when she said that, though she did not mean it any other way..

_Are we that obvious...?_

"But, after I walked away," George asked her curiously, "when did the fake-me approach you?"

She pursed up her lips, "Um, just a few minutes later.. I was surprised by your behaviour..one minute you were saying you did not feel like dancing, and the next you approach me and dance with me as though, er," she blushed a little, "Well, dance really enthusiastically.. But what the hell..there I was thinking George Weasley fell for me.. only to discover that it wasn't George Weasley at all.." she grinned.

_Hmm..she's cool about the whole matter.._and thought that if it was Angelina in place of her, she would never laugh off the matter..in fact, she'd stand nodding her head rigidly and say coldly that she got it.

He looked over at the Gryffindor table to find Lee in an animated conversation with Angelina, and grinned in spite of himself.

Meanwhile, Rita Skeeter's report on Hagrid being a half giant was flying around in Hogwarts, and Care of Magical creatures was now taken by Prof. Grubbly-Plank, and..

Lee was going on a date with Angelina on Saturday's Hogsmeade trip.

"Does this tee look good, or should I wear this blue flannel shirt?" he was flinging out his clothes one by one all around him, "Or- nah, this sweater looks boring.. Or this cargo, no, too light coloured.. yeah, these chinos look good, don't they?" he looked up at them.

George was grinning wickedly, and Fred was sure he had the same expression.

"Naaaah," George said, and he crouched down, pulled out his trunk from under his bed, and pulled out a prototype of a headless hat they'd been trying to develop in their summer holidays and left halfway developed.

"Ah Yes!" Fred exclaimed energetically, "You should wear _this,_ Lee!"

And they jumped on him together, trying to pull on the hat on his head. Lee was squatted on the floor because of the force with which they both attacked him. George successfully placed the hat on his head, and they both stepped back to examine him.

And burst out laughing..

Because Lee's dreadlocks had vanished, and it looked as though his face ended at his forehead.

"What kind of new joke-thing is this?" Lee said curiously, and got up from the floor to examine himself in the mirror, and shrieked.

"What! Oh no! My hair! Where the hell is _my hair_?!" He turned around and pounced on them, hitting them wherever he could with his fists.

Fred and George were laughing their heads off as Lee rained punches on them, "This-is-my-first-_date! _That – too – with – ANGELINA!"

"Lee, calm down! You look handsome!" Fred gasped between laughs as he ducked from his punches.

"You! I thought you two never step out of your lines with your jokes!" Lee yelled, 'That's why I help you with your pranks like a moron!" he looked close to tears.

"Aww!" George gave him a mock-compassionate look, and Lee glared at him, fuming.

"What kind of friend are you if you don't know the one rule we always follow with our jokes?" Fred said.

"No permanent damage to be caused," George said while miming quotation marks, "That's our rule.." and he smiled as he lifted the hat off his head.

"See, your dreadlocks are as gorgeous as they were.." he laughed.

Lee looked hurriedly in the mirror, and sighed in relief, and turned to them. The three of them stood staring at one another (Lee with a dead serious expression and Fred and George still grinning) and Lee suddenly launched himself on them with another attack. But this time, he was laughing as he punched them both.

Fred and George accompanied Lee as they stepped down the stairs to the common room, where he was received by a beaming Angelina clad in furry, cream-coloured, warm clothes complete with a scarf, cap and mittens, and Lee looked as though he was living an unbelievable dream. He took her hand in his readily, turned and gave them a grin, and Angelina too turned around and grinned at them, and they sauntered out the common room, chatting in a leisurely manner.

"Hnhh, guess I just witnessed the dawn of a fairy-tale-like love.." George said in a mock-girly voice with a dreamy sigh, and laughed.

"And speaking of love.." Fred looked at his twin with an impish grin, "I could feel our empty dorm beckoning us to lock ourselves inside it, baby.."

And they rushed to their dorm, locked the door with a spell, and kissed to their hearts' content...making the most of the opportunity of getting their dorm to themselves. Kissed desperately, shoving each other onto the walls, after a whole day of suppressing their love from the world...

They did not realize that they had slid down to the floor as they gorged on each others' mouths like mad. Fred pulled away, head in the clouds, to find George pressed against the wall, eyes closed and breathing heavily through parted lips, a trail of saliva glistening on his jaw. He opened his eyes slowly and gave a lopsided smile, "You- ah..my lips are numb..you ate my lips like a wild animal, git.."

Fred grinned and said, "And you ate my lips like it was a caramel truffle, git.."

"Speaking of truffles..wanna go to Hogsmeade, love?" George asked, breath slowing down and wiping his jaw with the back of his hand.

"Like, a date?" Fred grinned widely.

"Well, a date for us..and a normal day out for others.." George leaned in, grinning, and gave him a chaste peck on his cheek, and got up from the floor.

They pulled on their fur-coats and stepped out the common room. They could see wisps of snow floating here and there and the grounds cloaked in downy white snow as they passed through a hallway overlooking the Quidditch pitch.

They were stepping down the stairs casually when Moody hobbled toward them, magical eye swivelling around and normal eye fixed on them. "You two!" he growled, and Fred and George stopped dead in their tracks, stumped.

_What did we do now..? Is walking down the stairs with your twin on a Saturday a sin now? _He thought wearily.

"Were you the one dangling down the Astronomy Tower in the night of Yule Ball?"

* * *

**Please Review! :D**


	28. Chapter 28

Fred and George stared at him, aghast.

_Fuck._

"Er, yeah.." Fred said, bracing himself for the worst.

Moody's magical eye turned and fixed sharply on him, and his horrible, scratched and clawed face twisted into a cruelly amused expression, "And may I know the reason for it?" he growled.

_Just felt like breathing some fresh air, Maddy.._

"Er..I actually.." _Think fast think think "_I.."

Moody had his piercing stare fixed on him interminably.

"He had left his, er..star chart there after our last Astronomy class," George said quickly.

"Yeah," Fred said, nodding his head in agreement, "Yeah, so I went there to retrieve it.."

Moody's lips twisted up in a scary smirk, "So you had to dangle down the tower to retrieve it?" he said in a low gravelly voice.

"Er..it caught the wind and accidently slipped away from my hand..so I had to move toward the edge to grab it.." Fred babbled, knowing he was talking claptrap.

Moody regarded him silently for a few long seconds, his scary smirk still in place, and then said, "Alright, I believe you for now, Weasley..but I want you to do one thing: take a bath with that golden egg of yours in the prefects bathroom on the fifth floor, password is 'pine fresh'. It would serve two purposes, cleanse you, but I'm not sure if it would cleanse your mindset," he gave a stabbing, meaningful stare which chilled Fred to his bones, "And the other purpose will be revealed to you quite easily, I daresay.." he gave one last stare, and limped away with a clunking sound with each right step, which felt like echoing of gong to Fred as he stood, white as sheet, staring at the retreating back of Moody.

"Freddie.." George's voice came like a hollow whisper.

He turned around to face George, and found that his face was so pale that he looked like a glowing white seraph, "What could he have meant by what he just said, Freddie?" he asked with trembling, pale lips.

"I- I don't know," Fred said in a husky voice. His mouth and throat was dry.

They cancelled their plan of going to Hogsmeade then and there. Fred just felt like curling up like a cat against George's chest, and try to slow down his rapidly drumming heart. So they went back to their empty dorm.

He observed through their glass window that the sky was darkening slowly as dusk fell, while sitting on George's lap, burrowed into his warm chest while he sat leaning against the headboard of their bed, trying to calm himself down.

_I'm not sure if it would cleanse your mindset..._Moody's grating voice echoed inside his head, and he hugged George tight and squeezed his eyes shut, trying hard to suppress the growing fear inside him.

"He might not have meant anything like what we're fearing, Freddie.." George said in a soothing voice, rubbing his back slowly.

"What else could he have meant then?" Fred asked in a small voice, opening his eyes and staring at a button on George's shirt.

"Maybe he meant..he meant that we shouldn't lie..you were lying at his face, so, maybe he wanted to say that you're lying..maybe the tendency to lie won't be washed away or something like that.. might've tried conveying that through his abysmal ability of talking in riddles.." George said.

"Hmn.." Fred grunted feebly, trying to convince himself that that might be it, though his heart said vehemently that he was trying to fool himself.

"But, he said to take a bath with the egg, Freddie..what could he have meant by that?" George said with a slight tinge of curiosity in his sweet tone.

"He's-"

"He's trying to help us for the next task, Freddie..like the way he did in the first task.." George said Fred's thoughts aloud.

Fred looked up at George to find that a slightly perplexed look was slowly replacing his worried expression, "Why is he helping us this way, Freddie? What d'you reckon?"

Fred sighed against his love's neck, "Dunno.." Moody's blatant way of helping them was now slightly mystifying him rather than making him happy.

George made him look up by raising his chin up with a finger, "You're still worried 'cause of what he said, Freddie?" he asked softly.

Fred nodded slightly, staring into those beautiful blue eyes for strength, for comfort.

George sensed that he needed him, and he pressed his lips to his and kissed him slowly.

"Its nothing, Freddie.." he whispered, "You're worrying for no reason.."

And Fred let himself be comforted by his warm kiss and his fingers twining in his hair for now.

* * *

"Man, that Moody has real high competitive spirits, doesn't he?" Lee said that evening after he was back in their dorm after his date. He was in a lively mood, chatting away happily, "He really wants Hogwarts to win.."

"So do all the other professors, well except for morons like Snape, and dozy Binns.." Fred said in a flat voice, "they couldn't care about anything except their subjects and harassing students, could they.."

"But why d'you care for the reason behind his unconcealed way of helping you guys," Lee said blithely, "You're getting help..accept it gratefully, bozo.."

After a night full of soothing words from George telling him not to worry about what Moody said, that he might not have meant anything serious, that he was worrying needlessly, and that they must try out what Moody told them to do and see what would happen; he fell into a fitful sleep.

Next day, they went forth with their abandoned Hogsmeade trip, telling Lee not to expect them back for at least another three hours, and he only half-heard what they said, because he was chatting peacefully with Angelina in the common room (with a pile of homework stacked to be completed in front of them).

"Since when did he start caring about homeworks?" George smirked.

"Since he hooked himself up with Angelina.." Fred laughed, and they climbed out the portrait hole.

They dawdled around Zonko's for a while, and momentarily forgot about their troubles and worries as they checked out Jumping Snakes, which gambolled around in a very un-snake-like manner, and snuggled around George's neck, rubbing its shiny head against his neck like a cuddly cat.

He was looking at a box of sticky candies, absorbedly reading the description which said that one would get their jaws stuck together after chewing it three times, when George slipped his hand in his and pulled him to look at a box next to it.

"Look at this, Freddie..burping bubble gum," George was grinning as he read the description, "eat in your class, burp uncontrollably, scare the professor and bunk off the lesson" and he looked up at him with bright blue eyes, "Bunk off the lesson.." he repeated in a whisper, and Fred could hear the cogs working in his brain.

"Freddie, why don't we develop something eatable which would help harassed students to skive off horrible classes like those of Snape's..or Binns'.." he looked at him eagerly, a lopsided smile playing on his beautiful lips.

Fred returned his enthusiasm in the same measure, with the same smile on his lips, "That's a damn good idea, Georgie. That would be our first joke product with some practical use.." he grinned.

They walked through the snow clad alleyways, hand in hand, not caring what others would think..

Talking non-stop..

"...Did you see him digging his nose?..."

"...Oh Merlin, Ron would be proud of that bloke..." (Fred pointed at a boy greedily gorging on nougats in Honeydukes)

"...he looks like Bagman.." (George pointed at a rotund, pig-like boy)

"Nah, Dudley would be more accurate.."

"..D'you think Lee might've snogged Angelina.."

"..Did you hear Hagrid's crying these days 'cause of that report on him.."

"Poor guy, that Skeeter woman's a wart.."

"..We'll tell Harry about what Moody said about the egg.."

"Hm, I didn't see him after lunch, though.."

They entered a packed Three Broomsticks, full of Hogwarts students and some staffs, enjoying a laid-back Sunday, and spotted..

_Bagman_ talking with an uncomfortable-looking Harry, who looked as though he really wanted to shirk Bagman.

George suddenly gripped his hand, "What're those goblins doing here?" he murmured.

Fred looked at where George was pointing, and saw that there was a group of extremely angry-looking Goblins, jabbering while pointing fingers and shaking fists angrily at Bagman.

"Hmm, looks like they're the unlucky victims of his conniving ways, Georgie.." Fred said slowly.

They walked in through the throng of students toward the two of them, and Fred said brightly as they neared them, "Hello, Mr. Bagman. Can we buy you a drink?"

"Er..no," Bagman said quickly with a furtive glance at them, "no, thank you boys.."

And he cast a last glance at Harry, saying, "Well, I must dash..and, oh, Weasley..I must congratulate you for that splendid spellwork against the Swedish short snout," he gave a fleeting glance at them both, "Nice seeing you all..Good luck for the next task, you two.." and he hurried out of the pub. The goblins all slid off their chairs and exited after him.

"Hrggh" George let out a low, cat-like growl, "Stupid, _stupid_ prat.." he muttered under his breath.

They found Ron and Hermione already seated in a corner of the pub. Hermione was sipping butterbeer and Ron (the adorable git) wasn't sipping any butterbeer, and instead was placing another card on the castle he was building up.

"Giiiiiit.." George drawled, "playing exploding snaps in a crowded pub.."

Ron suddenly looked up at them, and glared.

"What?" Fred asked Ron, and then suddenly remembered the reason for his fury.

"Ah..Wonniekins.." Fred said in a mock-baby voice, and reached out a hand to pat his shoulder, and Ron suddenly jerked his shoulder to shirk off his hand, and the castle tumbled down, exploding with a loud bang on Ron's face, singing his eyebrows.

"See, I was going to apologize.." Fred said as he sat down with George and Harry around Hermione and Ron.

"And you had to go through a spasm as though fluffy farting ferret passed through here and burn your face.." George said, smiling.

"Were you the ones who did that?" Hermione asked with raised brows.

"Yeah, who else.." Ron muttered, and looked less angry now.

They ordered butterbeers, and sat sipping with Harry, Hermione and Ron.

"Yeah, Harry.." Fred said suddenly, "I wanted to tell you a thing about that egg. This time too Moody gave us a hint on what to do.."

Ron gave an incredulous look, "He is unbelievable.." he said.

"Yeah, much too unbelievable.." Fred said in an undertone, shuddering on the inside when those cryptic words of his echoed once again in his mind, returning to haunt him..

_...I'm not sure if it would cleanse your mindset..._

"He said to have a bath with the egg in the prefects bathroom on the fifth floor.." George said.

"What sort of a hint is that..?" Harry said, looking puzzled.

Fred shrugged, "No idea..well, we wouldn't know what he meant by that unless we have a bath with the egg, would we.."

"Have a bath.." Ron was snorting mockingly, "have a _bath_ with a ruddy _egg_.." he laughed.

"Well, you'd even dance naked in the middle of the Great Hall if it'd help you with the tasks, git.." Fred said sarcastically, "You don't know how these tasks scare the shit out of the contestants..so stop chortling.."

"Ha! Why did you enter the tournament, then, if you knew how tough the tasks are?" Ron asked with a triumphant sneer.

"If you thought I'd say 'touché' to that wise question of yours, you're wrong, prat.." Fred said, "We, unlike you, like to do something worthwhile and earn galleons, rather than sit idly and irritate others with nosy questions.."

"Yeah, so w-" George suddenly stopped (he meant to say 'we', Fred was sure)and said, "Fred will be going to the bathroom this evening.."

"And oh," Fred added, "the password's 'pine fresh', Harry.."

Just then, a barn owl came swooping above the heads of the multitude of people, who all ducked as the owl passed above them, and dropped a tiny envelope neatly on their table, right in front of Fred and George.

Fred grabbed the small envelope, and saw that it was a small note from Madam Pomfrey, saying that she got the permission from the headmaster, and requested George to go up to the hospital wing so that she could take a sample of his blood for the test they had requested her to perform.

"What's that?" Ron asked inquisitively.

"Nose out, Ron.." Fred said threateningly, "Or I'll burn that for you too.." he nodded at his singed eyebrows.

So they left the Three Broomsticks, and stepped into a dark, frosty evening, holding hands as they walked through the alleys back to the castle.

Madam Pomfrey waited with a sort of thin tube used for siphoning fluids, jabbed it into George's arm, took a sample of his blood, and performed some spells with complicated wand movements on it before corking it securely.

"I'll send you a note when the report will be ready," she said.

And they went to their dorm, relayed what all they checked out in Zonko's, and their idea of making some edible joke product for skiving off classes to Lee, and pestered him incessantly with "Did you snog Angelina?" "Did you finally get to snog her?" "Did she cry when you snogged her?", thrown at him in the middle of some conversation while he least expected it.

And decided to go to the prefects bathroom after curfew.

* * *

**Please review!**


	29. Chapter 29

**In the original, Myrtle comes and tips off Harry about how Cedric opened the egg underwater and thus helps Harry. But here, I don't want her 'interrupting' *wink wink* the twins, and thought they could figure it out themselves, like Cedric did, and so, have avoided her completely in this scene. I thought her role's rather unnecessary here. (and assuming that she's in her usual girl's bathroom rather than hidden in prefects bathroom checking out guys having bath. If you remember, she admits to Harry that she checked out Cedric as he had a bath with the egg) :D**

**Warning: Lemon. YOU HAVE BEEN _WARNED_!**

Fred tucked the heavy golden egg under an arm, and he and George set out for the prefects bathroom, concealed under disillusionment charm to avoid getting unnecessarily stalled by Filch. Lee asked why George too was accompanying him, and George simply said "To stand guard outside and warn him if any prefect would turn up for a bath" (but the truth was that they like to be partners in every endeavour), knowing full well that the chances of prefects dropping in for a bath is nil, since they'll be on their rounds, and they had chosen their time to visit the bathroom wisely to avoid just that.

They found the bathroom easily, having roamed each and every passageway of Hogwarts during their past five years. It was near the statue of Boris the Bewildered, and they found the right door, leaned closer to it and whispered the password, 'pine fresh'.

The door creaked open, and they slipped inside, shut the door behind them, took the disillusionment charm off them, and stared around.

It was splendid. A beautiful chandelier filled with innumerable, small candles hung at the centre, illuminating the huge bathroom with a soft glow. Everything was made of white, delicately patterned marble, including an empty, rectangular swimming pool sunk into the middle of the floor. About a hundred golden taps stood all around the pool's edges, each with a differently coloured jewel set into its handle, glinting in the soft yellow glow. Long white linen curtains hung at the windows. A large pile of fluffy white towels sat in a corner, and there was a single, golden framed painting on the wall featuring a blonde, sleeping mermaid.

"Wow.." George whispered as he took in the details. His angelic face glowed golden, and his red locks were coloured so vividly that it looked as though they were ruby-red, burning fire under the light of the chandelier.

"I could become a prefect just to have a bath in here.." Fred said, acknowledging his twin's wonder.

Fred took a towel from the pile, and set the towel along with the egg at the edge of the pool, and began trying the different taps around the pool.

"Freddie.." George said as Fred turned on a tap out of which pink and blue bubbles the size of footballs gushed out, "D'you think Moody was simply pulling our legs..how on earth are we going to find out what the stupid shrieking of this egg means by having a fucking bath with it.."

"You wouldn't know unless you try it out, would you.." Fred said absent-mindedly as he turned on another tap, and heavily perfumed purple clouds hovered above the rapidly filling pool.

George knelt down and turned some more taps out of which several light coloured, softly scented, steaming water flowed out.

"Oh," George said softly as he turned on a tap and a foamy light-blue fountain bounced off the surface of the water in wide arcs.

Several more minutes of this and the pool was filled up, with colourful bubbles of varying sizes, ranging from minuscule to quaffle-sized, floating around, and a strong aroma filled the bathroom.

Fred turned off the taps near him, straightened, carelessly pulled off his slippers, which landed unceremoniously a few steps away, and started peeling off his pajamas.

"Er.." George said slowly, and Fred turned around to look at him. George was knelt beside the pool, gazing at him with a tiny smile.

Fred's lips immediately tugged up in a roguish smile, and he slowly walked toward his knelt-down twin. He reached out a hand and burrowed his fingers slowly inside George's hair, gripped it softly and turned his head up, and sunk down before him.

"Wanna strip me, Georgie?" he whispered seductively as he leaned closer and planted slow kisses on his throat.

"Uhh, I...ahh.." George gave his responses in moans as Fred pressed himself closer and skimmed his lips unhurriedly on his throat, holding him close so that he won't collapse out of utter pleasure.

"Strip me.." Fred whispered into his bright red ear.

"Uh..fuck, Freddie.." George gasped, grinning, and pushed him away gently, "You're..a dirty little rascal.." but even as he said that, he was slowly unbuttoning his shirt, and slipped it off his shoulders, a coy smile playing on his lips.

"I thought you got over your shyness after I fucked your tight little hole hard, Georgie.." Fred whispered dirtily, leaning close to him so that their foreheads were touching, wanting to take him then and there as he visualized what he just said.

"I wouldn't have let you fuck me if I was shy, prat.." George said, leaning in for a kiss.

They kissed slowly for a few minutes, caressing each other's necks.

"Freddie.." George breathed after pulling back, "We came here to work out the clue in that egg.."

Fred was so aroused at this point that his senses were dull..making love with George was all that mattered right now.

"Hush.." Fred placed his finger on his love's lips, utterly high on lust, "I was taking off my clothes like an innocent boy, wasn't I.." Fred murmured as he unbuttoned his twin's shirt, and took it off him, "And you were the one who beckoned me.." he said as he trailed kisses down his neck, "Sitting there, like a fucking angel, smiling..." he pushed him down on the marble floor, "looking so ready to be taken.." he pulled off his pants and boxers swiftly, and examined his nude form, "and all that matters to me in this moment.." he looked into George's blue eyes, growing darker as he went on murmuring dirty words, "is ramming hard into your sweet little hole.."

He kissed him hard on his mouth, the animal taking control over him as he devoured his soft lips brutally, as he rubbed his palms hard over his chest, and felt satisfied as his love started responding by pulling his hair frantically and kissing him back with the same intensity.

He pulled away, panting, and asked, while his fingers freely played with his love's rock-hard shaft, just to hear him beg, "D'you want me to impale your sweet entrance, baby?"

"Hnhh..yesss..." George whimpered as he tweaked the head.

"D'you want me to spill deep inside you.." Fred knelt and took off the boxers he still had on, and slowly lifted up George's trembling body, cradling him in his arms, "while I fuck you in that pool and climax.."

"Yes.." George's eyes were closed.

He sat down slowly, George in his arms like a prized possession, and dangled down his legs into the warm water. George straightened up, sitting on his lap and dropping his legs into the water, and turned to reach Fred with ease, and moved his lips against his neck, tucking his arms under his and cuddling into him.

For a few long minutes, they just sat there with their legs twined in the water, Fred's arms around his twin as he stared listlessly into the foaming water and moaned quietly, the strong fragrance filling his head, and George on his lap, driving him mad as his mouth sucked and bit and did lewd things to his neck and his fingers twisted a hard nipple.

"Mhn, Georgie.." Fred gripped his long red locks, "I'm so hard for you, sweetheart.."

George wordlessly slid off him and slipped into the steaming water, Fred close behind him, and supported each other as they swayed slightly in the sheer depth of the pool, the thick foam on the surface of the water slapping at their shoulders.

Fred kissed him fiercely once more, pulling him close, his nails digging into his shoulders while their erections rubbed against each other under the warm water. The steam, the warmth, the slippery feel of George's shoulders as he got soaked in the soapy water, the strong scent, their pressed, gently rocking bodies all combined to give him the most heavenly feeling he could ever experience.

He pushed George gently toward the edge of the pool, turned him around, and kissed the nape of his damp neck as he groped and kneaded his silky chest from behind.

"Mmm..F-Freddie..ahh..ahhh.." George could only moan as his way of letting him know that he was enjoying it immensely.

Fred kissed his shoulders while running his palms up and down his arms, and George moaned, "F-Freddie..I ah, w-want y-you..n-now.."

His trembling, desperate moans were enough to turn Fred completely crazy, and he entered inside him with little control, slick enough for them both.

"Aaaaahhh!" George let out a loud cry of pain as he rammed in, which sounded louder as it reverberated off the walls of the cavernous room, and that only heightened Fred's euphoric state.

George moaned on and on as he pounded him from behind, clutching the edge of the pool for support, while Fred's hands were under the water, gripping his waist tight.

"Ahhh, baby..you're..ahh! So tight!" Fred groaned as he rocked rapidly against his love's back, water heaving around them in a matched rhythm.

George arched his back and threw his head back, resting it on Fred's shoulder, screaming in pain..in pleasure..

Fred took this as an opportunity to watch him; the way his face contorted as he gave deeper thrusts, choked moans escaping his open mouth, his brows knit together tight, his eyes scrunched shut..

"Georgie.." Fred kissed his exposed, soft, wet neck as he gave the deepest thrust, and felt his throat ripple with a moan, "I want y-you..hn, to look at m-me.."

George forced open his eyes, and identical, lust-filled blue eyes locked, and Fred moaned, "Ahh, I w-want to see you f-feel me..you, aaah!" George's walls were clenching around him, he was thrusting back in pleasure now, forcing his shaft to go deeper in him, "see you feel m-me.."

"I can f-feel only you, F-Freddie.." George whimpered.

"Say m-my name, baby.." Fred's voice was barely a whisper as his thrusts turned sloppy and his grip on George tightened.

"Fred..Fred..ahh! F-Fred.." George's eyes rolled back and his breaths turned weak.

"George- ahh! George..y-you're my life.." Fred gave a hasty thrust, gripping George around his waist tighter, "You're my..soul.." his vision was darkening.

And their souls united as they reached nirvana as one, climaxing at the same moment with quiet moans, Fred's seed spilling deep inside his love, and George into the warm, scented water.

George's knees gave way, and he collapsed, about to sink into the water, and Fred gripped him tight, turned him around, and hugged him, squeezing him close to his chest, resting his chin on his shoulder, and gripped his love's head with a hand, pressing him close to his own shoulder.

They swayed together in the gently undulating water, holding each other close, revelling in the afterglow.

"That was amazing, Freddie.." George whispered into his ear.

"Mmn.." Fred opened his eyes and stared at his love's glistening neck.

"You're damn rough..and wicked.." George murmured in that alluring tone of his, "and I like that, Freddie..I like it when your control snaps...and I beckoned you just for that..." George chuckled against his neck, "to see you lose control and turn into that beautiful feral animal that I so love.."

Fred broke the hug and looked at George's smiling face, a sly grin appearing on his face, "Mmmmm, Geoorrggiee, you pretend a lot, don't you..." he gave a loud, hard, smacking kiss on his cheek, "you were saying 'oh, lets solve the clue' while you were dying to get ravished," he kissed him hard on his lips, and looked into his eyes, "you like it rough, sweetheart?"

George looked down and smiled shyly, and nodded.

"Then you've made my job easier, and much more pleasurable for me, love.." Fred laughed quietly, pulling George close and hugging him tight once more.

They floated together in the water in a comfortable silence, the foam around them thinning slowly.

"Freddie.." George murmured against his shoulder, "let's do what we came here for, love.." and he pulled away gently from his embrace, did a couple of lengths toward the edge of the pool where the golden egg sat on the white towel, glinting in the soft yellow light, and took it carefully in his hands.

Fred swung his legs slowly under the water and edged closer to his twin, slipping an arm around his love's waist to halt himself, and frowned at the golden egg.

George prised open the egg, and it let out the same old piercing wail, which sounded so loud in the yawning room that Fred felt his head splitting open.

"Close it! Close it, Georgie!"

George snapped the egg shut quickly, frowning, and looked at Fred, "Maybe we're to give this egg a bath?" he said, and chuckled at the ludicrous idea.

Fred himself felt like laughing at the thought of it, but took the egg from George's hand all the same, and dipped it under the water, kept it there for a few long moments, took it out, and opened it once again; and the egg once again let out the loud shriek.

"Argh!" he closed it impatiently, frustrated. "What the fuck!" he said angrily.

George was chewing his lip, frowning. "Freddie..try opening it _under_ the water.." he looked at him with a thoughtful expression.

Fred knit his brows, thinking it won't be any better this time, and was on the verge of losing his hopes on cracking the mystery of the egg as he dipped it in, and opened it under the water.

And braced himself to get his eardrums burst once again.

But this time, instead of hearing the expected loud shriek, he heard a soft, slow music from under the water... From the egg...

He looked up quickly at George, and he had a pleasantly surprised look, and Fred was sure he might be mirroring his expression now.

"Lets go down to hear it clearly, Freddie.." George said, and wrapped his arms around his waist. They both took a great breath and slid under the surface as one.

They floated down together toward the marble bottom of the bubble-filled bath.

Fred could describe that moment with just a single word: magical.

Streaks of golden light fell across George's exquisite, naked body in long, wavering bands, his flaming red locks were slowly fluttering around his thin face, gently caressing his face and neck; and to top it off, a slow, enchanting music enhanced the beauty of the scene.

And he was sure George was thinking the same thing about him, judging by the deep emotions swimming in his eyes.

He shook his head off his dazed thoughts, and concentrated on the chorus of mystical voices which came from the golden egg clutched in his hands between them, which sang:

"_Come seek us where our voices sound,_

_We cannot sing above the ground,_

_And while you're searching ponder this:_

_We've taken what you'll sorely miss,_

_An hour long you'll have to look,_

_And to recover what we took,_

_But past an hour – the prospect's black,_

_Too late, it's gone, it won't come back."_

Fred felt his lungs straining for oxygen, and they let themselves float back upward, breaking the bubbly surface, and shook their long mane from their eyes.

Fred spoke after gulping in air a few times, "Did you get the song?". His hands held the egg underwater, music still playing faintly below them.

George's face was screwed up in thought as he flipped back his dripping auburn hair which was sticking to his face, "Come seek us where our voices sound..and I don't remember the subsequent lines.." George said in a sing-song voice, and laughed.

Fred grinned, and said, "We'll listen again.."

They needed four more underwater renditions of the song before they finally memorized it.

"Hmm.." Fred was thinking hard, "Its something about some kind of people who can speak only underwater..."

"And they'll take away some important possession of yours.." George said.

"And I'll have an hour to retrieve what they took.." Fred said.

George nodded, and said, "But if you take more than an hour, you won't get the thing back.."

"Hmm, so that's the second task...collect back the thing they'll take away within the stipulated time, or risk losing it forever. And the points might be given on the basis of how quick you finish the task.." Fred said.

"Right.." George said, and then a confused expression crossed his features, "But who _are_ these people..? People who can't talk above water?"

Just then, they heard a rustling noise from behind them, and their bloods chilled.

They whirled around so fast that they cricked their necks, and found that the noise came from the golden framed painting of the blonde mermaid.

She was observing them with beautiful violet eyes, a knowing look on her face, and flipped back some stray strands of long blonde hair from her face.

"Holy fuck..." Fred whispered "she was watching us all along.."

"She's just a painting," George said, looking at Fred coolly.

"But portraits do blab, Georgie.." Fred said, panicking.

George looked thoughtful for a few moments, and then said, "But she did not speak a single word while we, you know, did so passionately.. If it would've been any other portrait the occupant would've freaked out and shrieked the moment we kissed.." he said. Then his blue eyes danced in the soft light as he looked at Fred, a look of realization passing across his features, "Freddie.."

But George did not say anything else. He hurriedly climbed out of the pool, dripping and beautifully naked, and walked toward the painting.

The blonde mermaid watched him approach her with a sort of astonishment and incredulity in her graceful face, observing his features head to toe, and Fred watched his twin do whatever he was about to do, puzzled and curious.

George stood before the mermaid, and said, "Er, hi!"

And Fred burst out laughing, "I fucked your brains out, right.." and Fred laughed again, "Yeah, that must've addled your brains.."

"Shut up, git.." George said without turning back to look at him, still facing the mermaid (who was completely checking him out since he stood so near to her, shocked, yet amazed) "If there's any major difference between us, then that's in the level of intelligence.." and he raised a hand and waved at the mermaid, and said, "Hi! How's life? Thrilling, right? Since you get to see guys naked everyday..and maybe some shocking scenes like the one you saw moments ago.."

The mermaid had a look of shock mingled with amusement etched on her pretty face, looking at George as though he was an exceptionally interesting creature.

"Are you not speaking 'cause you're shocked into silence?" he asked a bit apprehensively.

The mermaid continued to regard him with awe.

"Can you even speak?"

The mermaid, now looking indignant, shook her head rigidly.

"Yeah..." George drawled, and turned around with a triumphant smile.

"She can't speak, Freddie.. cause she's not underwater.." he said coolly.

And Fred had to admit that his love had brains (a little, teeny tiny bit more than him).

* * *

**PLEASE REVIIIEEEW! :D**


	30. Chapter 30

**EgoXrs pointed out that the hyphenated words (when they talk while making love) seemed as though they were stuttering. They weren't stuttering, but moaning, out of breath. :D**

**Sentences riddled with dots and hyphens = *gasp* *sigh* *whisper* *moan* HAHA :D**

**Now, the first paragraph may seem a leetle 'odd' to some of you, but I had to write it. Well, they're so close that they do not feel embarrassed about caring for each other in a way we can't even imagine. JK too have hinted it in OoTP when she mentioned Fred and George's testing of their products on themselves giving them 'boils' in their 'arse', and they discuss freely about it: **

**OoTP Pg: 380-**

Both were bandy-legged and winced with every movement. Harry could hear them complaining in low voices as he towelled his hair dry.

"I think a few of mine have ruptured," said Fred in a hollow voice.

"Mine haven't," said George, wincing, "They're throbbing like mad...feel bigger if anything..."

**Howzzat?! And we can imagine the missing-moments from the book!**

**Yes that was my justification for writing whatever I've written.**

**This chapter's inspired by '****_Only Time – Enya'._**

**Now stop calling me a mental...and lets gooooooo...(a '****_leetle_****' long chap)**

* * *

That night, he slept just about a few hours, because George reluctantly admitted that he had a sore behind when Fred asked him why he was wincing by the time they crawled into their bed. Fred, after losing his control so spectacularly, penetrated him without preparing him; and he had to pay for his pleasure later. At his wits end on how to soothe George, since he can't approach Madam Pomfrey now, telling her George's got a sore ass, since she would naturally ask for the reason behind such an unusual ache, he finally thought of soothing his inflammation by applying cold lube. (It was a crude way, but there wasn't any other way he could think of).

And, after cursing himself a million times and asking George for forgiveness like a moron, like the way he does after acting stupid and rash every time, swore to himself that he would never enter him without preparing him. He thought, shuddering, that the only reason his love did not have any worse injury was because he was greatly relaxed and ecstatic while he penetrated him.

The next few days passed in a relatively peaceful manner, with George teasing him of being a real 'pain in the ass', and Fred kissing him softly on his cheek as his love laughed, relieved that his pain had reduced.

Fred and George informed Harry that he had to open the egg underwater, and repeated their egg's song to him, and said that it would be wise to go check if his egg sung the same song or not, and Harry, after checking it out in the prefect's bathroom, said that it was the same song as theirs.

And now, only one hurdle remained in front of them: figuring out a way to breathe underwater.

"Well, there are human transfiguration techniques," George said. They were seated in the Gryffindor common room, wind howling outside in the frosty evening, while they all sat, snug and warm, on couches and armchairs in front of a handsome fire burning in the fireplace.

"But, we haven't started it yet," George said, frowning slightly, "we won't be starting it until the next month..and the task's just two weeks away..."

"And they can be pretty nasty if they go awry.." Fred said, stretching out his legs and curling his toes a bit, gazing absently at George's bare feet resting on the threadbare carpet beside his; it looked as though a mirror was reflecting his feet, "you can imagine walking with a pipe sticking out of your head..or a tentacle jutting out of your arse...".

Harry looked slightly worried as he asked, "So you mean..you've got no idea about any spell that can help you breathe underwater?"

"Not that we can think of right now.." Fred said, straightening up a bit and resting his back a bit more comfortably against the couch, "But we'll research about it..and let you know if we come by anything useful.."

"Maybe I can summon an Aqua Lung from a nearby muggle shop.." Harry said with a thoughtful look.

"What's that?" Ron asked curiously.

"Um..its a breathing equipment muggles use for breathing underwater. It's got a hose, to be connected to your mouth and a cylinder, which is attached to your back..." Harry said.

"Hm, sounds...heavy," George said quietly, "interesting.."

"Well, you can't," Hermione said, looking at Harry sternly, "You'll be disqualified from the tournament for breaking International Code of Wizarding Secrecy. And d'you think you'll be able to figure out how to operate an aqua-lung within an hour?"

"Oh," Fred said, "So you don't actually know how to operate it?"

"Er..no.." Harry said sheepishly.

"Hm, then this thing's mechanism must be.." Fred groped for a correct word.

"Byzantine.." George offered.

"Isn't there any nice spell in Charms you people can think of?" Lee asked, looking at Fred and George, Angelina keenly listening to their conversation as she sat beside him.

"We'll have to search..there's bound to be a spell in charms.." George said, "In fact, I'm sure I've read it somewhere while Fred and I were researching information for developing fake wands..but I just can't remember where..." he puckered his lips a bit, struggling to recollect.

So they once again took refuge in the library, searching through endless volumes on anything related to underwater. They came across a lot of books on underwater creatures and irrelevant ancient spells.

Two weeks turned one week, and one week turned a few days...

And the peaceful air slowly morphed into that of extreme tension, and Fred began losing his appetite, and sleep (they pored over the books they brought along to their dorm from the library at night).

And finally, they were left with just a single night before the task...

And still no progress made in finding a spell to breathe underwater.

"Oh Merlin..." Fred said, starting to crack up, his head pounding dully and eyes heavy due to sleep deprivation, "Guess I'll have to embarrass myself in front of everyone after all..."

This time, George wasn't hiding his worry like he did before the first task, "Fred, we'll spend the whole night in the library tonight.." he looked at him, brows pulled together in worry.

"We fucking spent our entire days in the library for the past two weeks, didn't we?" Fred nearly screamed, panic-stricken.

"We'll search restricted section, Fred," George said, "We'll check everywhere we might've missed out.."

"Well, there's hardly any shelf left that we haven't checked," Fred was talking fast due to nerves. It felt like he was reliving the moments before facing the dragon all over again.

"We'll still search.." George said resolutely.

They walked up the grandstairs and reached the landing between third and fourth floor, and rounded a corner when Filch came limping with his ugly cat in tow.

"_Fuck!_" Fred hissed, exasperated, and grabbed George's arm, trying to pull him behind the wall, but Filch spotted them.

"You two! Why aren't you in your common room!" he croaked, "Stop right there! Stop!" he was struggling to run toward them, his wrinkled face creased all the more due to fury.

They took to their heels, running upstairs blindly (their usual tactic, on the misfortune of getting spotted by Filch, is to run upstairs; Filch usually has to crawl on his all fours to climb up the stairs).

"Shit he had to spot us right when we forgot to cast disillusionment charm.." George panted as they ran upstairs.

"Wait right there!" Filch yelled from the landing below them, "Oh how I wish to hex these two! Been pestering me since the day they set their damned feet on the entrance stairs! If only I weren't a squib!" he was panting and muttering. Mrs. Norris suddenly leapt in front of them, baring her claws and snarling. George sadistically kicked her out of the way, and she tumbled down a few stairs, snarling ferociously.

They picked up their speed, and were flying up the stairs; Mrs. Norris' angry spitting and hissing sounded very close to them, but Filch's mutterings grew considerably fainter.

They reached a murky landing which split into two corridors. They took the left one and ran along it. Mrs. Norris' wailing meows sounded somewhere far behind them.

They ran without stopping for a second, reached a wide passageway with an enormous tapestry, which they immediately recognized as that of Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls to dance and getting flogged by them brutally as he tried.

Fred grabbed George's arm and flung them both against a wall opposite the tapestry, pressing himself against George as he craned his neck over George's head and looked at the wide passageway stretching ahead of the wall, to see Mrs. Norris streaking forward lithely toward the wall they were hiding behind, and Filch limping far behind her with a murderous look on his face, "They're here, aren't they, sweetie?" he rasped.

"Fuck!" Fred hissed. But just then, something unusual happened.

A highly polished door materialized right in front of him on the blank stretch of wall against which George was pressed. Without thinking, Fred thrust his hand between his twin's arm and waist and pushed open the door.

George, having no idea that there was a door behind him and had his entire weight against it, stumbled backward with a startled expression, with Fred pressed close to him, and they fell down unceremoniously on the floor, and the door swung shut immediately, casting them into a subdued light.

"What the fuck!" George seemed a bit disconcerted and winded as he stared at Fred with shocked blue eyes, lying below him on what seemed to be a pure white, downy carpet.

Fred, having no clue himself on what just happened, looked around, and found that they were in a room which was a cross between an opulent bedroom and a library with hundreds of books in towering bookshelves.

"A door just appeared without any warning right behind you, Georgie.." he said as he gazed around in wonder.

George lips were parted in amazement, "Merlin, I was thinking of a room exactly like this one.." he looked at Fred, "I thought- well, it was just a random, frenzied thought, that if we could find someplace to hide from that old coot and read in peace.."

Fred got off his twin, and saw that there was a large bed right in the middle of the square room, covered in silky white bedspreads and fluffy white pillows. Large, mullioned windows loomed behind the polished, dark, wooden headboard, which were partly obscured by white curtains, letting in a chunk of pearly moonlight through the gap, which fell in a thick band across the mattress so it glowed like a diamond. Beside the magnificent bed was a small nightstand on which sat a vase with two white roses, and a small, tattered book. Surrounding this beautiful arrangement were huge bookshelves filled with books on techniques to breathe underwater, and other underwater-related books. The narrow stretches of walls between the bookshelves had small wall-niches sunk into them on which sat thick wax candles burning serenely. A small fireplace had a cheery fire burning in it which gave the room the muted glow.

"Did you dream up such a beautiful room, Georgie?" Fred asked incredulously, and looked at George, who was now walking slowly toward the nightstand.

"Well, I just grew aware of how you were pressed against me," George plonked down on the edge of the bed, grinning at him, "so thoughts of making love with you crossed my mind once.." he chuckled playfully, "That might explain this huge bed right here in the middle..but.." he sobered down slowly, and a confused look crossed his face, "What is this place? I thought of it and it just appeared out of nowhere...?" he frowned around at the room, puzzled.

Fred then suddenly remembered it, the memory hitting him like a lightning bolt.

"Georgie.." he made his way to his twin, and sunk into the bed beside him, "While we were having dinner with the judges that night of Yule Ball, Dumbledore had mentioned of a room he accidently walked into; he insisted that he'd never seen the room before. He said that perhaps the room appeared only when it is needed...maybe he was talking about this room.."

"Hmm," George looked around the beautiful room once again, "Maybe.."

"And," Fred looked at his twin keenly, "It was a different room for him, Georgie..he said that he walked into a 'beautifully proportioned room with chamber pots'..."

"Maybe it's a different room for different people.." George said thoughtfully.

"Maybe..." Fred looked at the bookshelves, "And Merlin, there are hundreds of books on underwater breathing techniques.." he said with awe.

He got up and started walking toward the bookshelves when George exclaimed, "Oh! I came across that spell in this book!"

Fred looked around at his twin to find him sitting on the bed, feverishly flipping through the tattered book which was lying on the nightstand.

"Yes! This is it, Freddie!" he literally squealed in delight, "Merlin, I'm such a moron to have forgotten it! It's such a fucking simple charm!"

Fred hurried over to him and threw himself on the bed beside his twin, peering at the old, worn book in his hand, which he recognized as the book which lied unwanted in their cluttered cabinet in their bedroom back in the Burrow. He immediately saw what George was reading: Bubble-Head charm, with a grayscale illustration of a boy with a large bubble of air around his nose and mouth.

They had perused the book (which belonged to their father; it was his seventh year charms book) while looking for blasting spells for their fake wands. But they might've just skipped through the part of bubble-head charm since they were keenly searching for explosion-related spells, and maybe that was the reason why George hardly remembered the spell.

"But how did this book reach here, Georgie..?" Fred asked, perplexed.

George shrugged, "Absolutely no idea, baby.." he then looked up at him, smiling in relief, "Try casting the spell, Freddie..."

Fred took out his wand and muttered the incantation, and got it right with the second try. It actually was a real simple charm.

"Oh Merlin!" Fred flopped down hard onto the soft mattress with a huge sigh of relief, with his arms spread wide and legs splayed, "All those sleepless nights spent with our nose stuck to useless books while the spell we needed was in our dad's old book..."

"Well," George was flipping through a book from the bookshelf, "There are plenty of useful spells in these books too...none are as simple as bubble-head charm, though.." he pushed the book back into the shelf, walked over to him, and sat beside him on the bed.

George's pale, freckled face glowed white in the moonlight drenching him as he sat there looking at him with a loving smile, "I was freaking out, Freddie.. I cracked up when I thought how we were at least prepared with the required spells in the first task...thank heavens for this room.." he said softly, his gaze fixed outside the window. He looked so cute.

Fred grinned at him as he heaved himself up from his spread-eagled position, wriggled his way close to George, and snuggled into him, resting his head on his shoulder. George shifted his arms to hold him comfortably.

They sat, snug and cuddled up, in a comfortable silence for a long time, gazing out at the starry sky with the full moon beaming at them; the swaying tree-tops, the vast grounds and the distant chain of dark mountains were washed in a ghostly white moonlight.

Fred then turned and gazed at his love's blue eyes instead, and though his eyes were heavy due to lack of sleep, he found that he felt strangely energized as he stared into those beautiful blue eyes.

"What.." George murmured as he felt his gaze on him, and looked down at him.

"I.." Fred smiled softly as he struggled for the right words to say, "I was just gazing out the window.." he whispered.

"Then I think you're looking in the wrong direction.." George smiled.

"No..." he kissed his neck softly, "I see the world better through your eyes, Georgie.."

George looked touched for a few seconds as he grasped the depth of his words, then leaned closer and pressed his lips to his without another word.

"When did you turn so poetic, sweetheart?" George whispered against his lips.

"Since the moment I fell in love with you..."

"Liar.." George smiled against his eyelids, "I've never heard you say such profound things when we were young..."

Fred kissed his love's jaw softly, "You mean to say-"

"That we were in love right from the beginning.." George whispered against his cheek.

"Mh, that's what I feel too.." his love was planting slow kisses all over his face..." Th..that's what I feel w-when I think of how we..mmh.." his lips were softly kissing his ear now, "h-how we could never s-stay..nhh.." his lips were gliding slowly along his jawline, "a..apart..h-how we n..needed each other e-every second of our..ahh..existence.." his speech was growing steadily breathless and incoherent as his head started swimming when George licked his neck, right below his ear.

"Hn, fuck.." Fred gasped when George's mouth closed around his nipple through the fabric of his shirt.

George pushed him gently onto the huge bed and slipped his fingers slowly under his shirt, teasing his stomach. "Mmh..should we do here, Georgie..w-what if someone opens the door.." he breathed.

George pulled away a hand from under his shirt and took out his wand, pointed it at the door, and muttered 'colloportus'..

"There.." he placed his wand carelessly on the nightstand and slipped his hand back under Fred's shirt, and continued torturing him, "And I don't think that the door'll be visible to anyone else, Freddie.."

"W-what makes you think so..?" he was going insane as those caresses around his navel felt so good.

"It was a blank stretch of wall before the door appeared, right...and Dumbledore said it appears only when its needed.." George pulled his hands from under his shirt and began unbuttoning it, "I guess the door promptly disappears after people enter or leave it...or else wouldn't we have discovered this room ages ago..?"

Fred raised himself up a bit so that George could peel his shirt off him, and grinned as he said, "Why's everything white in here...?" he gestured around, "This bedspread's white..white pillows, white curtains, white carpet, white candles, white roses...?"

"Hmn darling.." George straddled him and murmured into his ear, "Are you trying to distract me with your silly questions?" and he licked his way to his lips, "cause if that's what in your mind.." he bit his bottom lip and pulled it lightly, "you're going to fail miserably.." he trailed his tongue over his lips.

Fuck, George was in his sensual mood, and he was absolutely amazing once he got started.

"Mm- ah.." George licked his bottom lip as he ran his fingertips up and down his chest, "G-Georgie..." electric sparks were shooting through his every nerve as his love slowly tormented him.

"Freddie.." he whispered, kissing his collarbone, then straightened, grabbed his wand impatiently from the nightstand, gave it a flick, and with it, their clothes slid off them and floated happily down to the floor.

"Impatient, love?" Fred grinned teasingly.

"Your sighs and murmurs make me.." George smiled fondly, and lay on top of him, kissing his neck, his jaw, back down to his collarbone...while he caressed his face tenderly..."and I guess you know the reason why everything's white here.."

He did...

White was his love's favourite colour...

Fred pulled him close by his hair and kissed him deeply on his lips...enjoying every moment of it...

Wet and warm and soft...

"Mh, y-you love white..darling..." he loved the way they were pressed close together..

Heart thudding against identical heart...

Chest heaving against identical chest...

He let his hands roam over his back and his well-toned arse while he loved him with soft kisses along his shoulders.

"You said you..ahh..wanted w-white lilies w..when I- hah!" George trailed a finger tantalizingly along his groin. It was amazing how George made him lose his wits by the gentlest of touches.

"When you picked violet ones for me when we were six.." George murmured against his chest. Fred stroked his hair as he trailed kisses down his chest to his stomach.

God, those warm, heated breaths on his stomach sent him to paradise...

And those light caresses on his thighs...

"Georgie..."

George knelt, his knees sunk into the soft mattress, and lifted up Fred's left leg gently, grasping at the back of his knee and ankle.

"Hn..Georgie..?" Fred's heart was racing with anticipation.

George started kissing his calf, kissing his way slowly to his knee...his thigh...

"Mh, mhhh ahh.." Fred threw his head back, closed his eyes, and moaned quietly to his heart's content...

He was kissing his groin...

Fred's heart exploded with a powerful rapture..

"Oh Merlin! Georgie!" Fred was panting hard with his mouth open in wild ecstasy. "I- ahh! Fuck me hard! Fuck me now!" Why doesn't his Georgie touch his throbbing member?

"Nah.." George whispered playfully, and Fred forced open his eyes to glare at him.

"What? Hnh..I'm..I'll die if y-you wont..." he gasped.

"There's so much of you to explore, darling..I want to enjoy every bit of you.." and he circled a finger slowly around his entrance.

"Ahh! Oh God!" Fred thought he'd die right there, because his heart was threatening to jump out of his chest now.

"I'm a bit slow to fire up..." George murmured as he ran a finger along his testicle, "But I'll burn long once I'm ignited..I can assure you that, baby.."

"Ah! George! Please!"

His angel wasn't heeding his pleas. He was _torturing _him..yes, it was pure torture..

He was cleverly avoiding touching his member..and his tongue and balmy breath were warming his testicles...

"P..please..I'll die..."

"Hm..don't say that.." George whispered, "You're making me..." he reached out to grab his wand, and lubed his fingers amply..

He lifted his legs up and placed them on his shoulders.

In went a cold, hard finger...

"I want your dick in me!" Fred hissed through his teeth crazily.

"I'm not a git like you to enter an unprepped hole.." his twin might've chuckled after saying that if he wasn't gasping for air.

And another..

"Ah!" a quick whimper escaped Fred's parted lips.

"Relax..baby.." George left a trail of quick kisses along his jaw and rubbed his stomach soothingly, and Fred immediately melted.

And another..

He was too rapturous to notice any pain.

George gently rotated his fingers in his entrance, and moved them up and down...

"M..more..Georgie..." he looked at George's lust-filled face, inches away from his, and gasped in his sweet breath when he obliged and moved his fingers faster..

"Ah! Hit me...r-right there! Mhhm..a little more, baby.."

George's fingers hit his bundle of nerves and Fred was riding them like there's no tomorrow...wanking off rhythmically..

"Ahhh..ahhh..ahhhh" Fred bounced up and down sinuously, moaning into his lover's face..

George slowly pulled away his fingers and wiped them on the bedspread..

"Georgie.." Fred groaned huffily, "I was so close..." he breathed.

"Hmn..stop complaining, sweetheart...you're about to get a better treatment..."

He was thinking how seductive his whisper sounded when George positioned the head of his rock-hard shaft against his entrance...

His stomach lurched in wild eagerness and all thoughts left his mind..

He entered in slowly, letting out a deep sigh...

"Aaaaahh!" a loud moan rippled Fred's throat because his love was huge, "Hn..so big, Georgie..so good..."

"I could say the same about you..." George gasped as he grabbed his oozing cock and gave it a light squeeze.

He rocked his hips gently against his as his shaft moved through his entrance..smooth and slow...

"More more..give m-me..more.." Fred was groaning loudly and impatiently, head thrown back and eyes closed in pleasure. His hand instinctively went to his hard, needy cock and stroked at its sensitive skin...

There was a prompt increase in pace..and George gripped his hair tight and plunged into his exposed neck, a rough edge to his kisses..

"Nh~ ah! Ah! Aaahh!" Fred moaned in increments as George's thrusts turned deeper and he was close to hitting his sweet spot..

"AAAAHHH!" Oh he was fucking moaning rapturously into his ear as he rammed into his sweet spot dead on.

"Georgieeee ahh! Yes! Fuck baby..do me harder do me harder!" Fred threw every restrain out the mullioned windows and _screamed._..bouncing up to force his shaft as deep as possible into his hole, jerking off in frenzy...

"Mhm..Fred..clench around me like that.." George moaned weakly into his ear, "Ahh baby..I love you so m..much.."

George was banging into him now..his control snapping...

Fred opened his eyes to see George's blue eyes staring into his...his face contorted in extreme ecstasy...moaning softly into his mouth with each hasty thrust...

"I'm s..so, ahh! Close.." George whispered, "D..darling..I love y-you so..ahh.."

"I l..love you m-more..love you to pieces.." he gasped against his love's open mouth as their eyes stayed locked on to each other..

George pulled his hair hard as his thrusts turned careless and his eyes grew dark, "Tell me that you're mine forever, Fred..." he barely moved his lips..

"I'm..yours..f-forever.." George was deep inside him, pounding him hard..."and for..always..."

He was barely thrusting when his sweet warm seed spilled deep inside him...filling him with warmth and love... Fred came not long after that...spurting all over his love's chest...

Fred curled his toes as George pulled out with a small moan, grasped his ankles and lowered his legs gently from his shoulders, and slumped down over him...

Fred was wrecked...wonderfully wrecked...

After an eternity of gasping, their heartbeats returned slightly to normal...

"You do burn long, Georgie..." Fred mumbled against his neck. He felt so tired.

He felt George shake with a small laugh, "Hm, but I guess I like your way, Freddie..hot and quick and rough..."

Fred wiggled up to see George's face, "I won't _ever_ be rough with you, d'you understand?" he looked at him sombrely, "Not after I fucking _bruised_ your arse."

"You just have to lube me, Freddie, that's all...then you can be as rough as you want.." he gazed at him like a wise old man looking kindly at a naive child.

Fred realized that he was damn sleepy...he had not slept peacefully for a whole week...

"What time's it?" he asked George sleepily.

George fumbled around for his wand and summoned his watch which was lying on the floor with their clothes.

"Five to eleven.." he then tucked his arms under his, "Hm, I wonder if there's a bathroom in here..I'm all sweaty and smelly.."

"Hmn.." Fred pulled George close, hugging him tight, and inhaled deeply, his nose buried in his soft, silky hair..and his favourite scent was lulling him quickly to sleep..

A familiar vanilla scent...

"Mh yeah.." Fred murmured groggily, "vanilla ice-creams are white.."

"What?" George's sweet tone was laced with slight amusement mingled with confusion.

"White..your favourite.." he mumbled, "and sweet..like you..."

"You're not making sense, sweetheart.." George said softly.

"Sense when I eat you whole and..sweet.." and he was enjoying vanilla ice-cream, with his Georgie, licking it right from his lips and mouth, on a sweltering summer day, sitting on his lap...

* * *

He was lying in a barren, empty, freezing land...

Alone..curled up...

"G-Georgie?" he trembled through chattering teeth...

But George was nowhere in the white, empty land...

Terror, ice-cold and stabbing, pierced through his heart...his soul...

"G-G-Georg-gie?"

Empty...cold...

"I'm f-freezing..c-c-come h-here c-c-close..I n-need your w-warmth..."

Empty...alone..

"NOOOOO!" he roared suddenly, and sat bolt upright.

He looked around. He was in the white-themed, beautiful room his Georgie had dreamt up..

Sitting on the huge bed, its silky white bedspread crumpled, fluffy white pillows askew...

Alone..

The fire had gone out from the fireplace...the candles sat cold...

And a dull grey light entered through the windows. The skies were overcast with fleece-like grey clouds hovering motionless.

He felt around the bedspread, to check if it was warm where George slept beside him.

It was cold, which meant he was lying here without George for quite a long while...

He felt a growing sense of foreboding rising in him.

_Where is Georgie?_

He hurriedly got off the bed, put on his clothes hastily, stowed his wand into his pocket, and ran out of the room, his heart racing with apprehension.

_He never leaves me alone...never..._

He thundered down the stairs...three at a time..

_Where's my Georgie where's my Georgie..._

He was sprinting through the corridor toward their common room to check if he was in there..

_He must be there, where else...but, why did he leave me alone..? _The thought was really bewildering him.

He was so blind with worry as he ran like a madman that he did not notice Lee standing right in front of him, and rammed right into him.

"Ooof!" Lee gasped, and Fred looked up, dazed and winded.

Lee's brown eyes were alight with anxiety, mingled with relief on spotting him, "Oh Fred! Thank Merlin you came! We were getting so worried! They've got George! They've-"

"WHAT?!" Fred roared. _Got – George...? Who, why, when...oh no..oh no..._

"Fred, you do know it's your second task today, don't you?." Ginny said, looking at his unsettled expression. It was then he noticed that she stood right beside Lee, pale as death.

He had completely forgotten that it was the day of the second task in his wild anxiety...

And then a realization hit him like a boulder to his head...

_We've taken what you'll sorely miss..._

"What time's it?" he asked frenziedly, forgetting that he had his watch on.

"Twenty past nine, there's just ten minutes left for the task to start!" Lee yelled urgently.

_An hour long you'll have to look..._

Fred took off like bullet fired from a gun, speeding down the grandstairs, across the great hall, into the entrance hall, pushing nameless and faceless people viciously away from his way...

_But past an hour – the prospect's black,_

_Too late, it's gone, it won't come back..._

_Won't come back..._

Fred couldn't see a thing, couldn't hear a thing...as he streaked through the lawns toward the great lake.

His heart wasn't even beating.

Because his brain was focused into just a single task. The task which _must_ be accomplished, no matter what...

Save his true love before it's too late.

_My Georgie..._Last night was still so fresh in his mind...

He thought, fiercely, that he will rescue him even if he'd lose his arms or limbs trying.._ I will I will I will...I must..._He would gladly endure the harshest of pain to save him...

The lake was surrounded by seats which rose in stands, packed to the bursting point, reflected in the lake below. The excited babble of the crowd echoed strangely across the water.

Fred dashed to the other side of the lake toward the judges, who were sitting at another gold-draped table at the water's edge.

Krum and Fleur watched him sprint toward them. He skidded to a halt as he reached there and stood panting hard, when Harry came sprinting next toward them.

"Where have you two been?" demanded a bossy voice, which he immediately recognized as Percy's, "The task's about to start." He was sitting at the judges' table.

He would've showered him with the choicest of ugly abuses if he wouldn't have been so bewildered by his stress and anxiety.

Ludo Bagman came up to them and started spacing them along the bank. Fred stood between Harry, to his right, and Krum, to his left. He turned to Harry in spite of the extreme tension he was in, "Harry," and Harry turned to look at him. He was bent double and clutching his ribs.

"Know what you're gonna do? Who've they taken from you?" Fred asked urgently, wondering why he was gasping.

"Ron.." he said weakly.

And that was enough to worsen his situation.

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly as Harry was now gasping as though in pain. Fred was losing his sanity now...If Harry wasn't fit enough to rescue his baby brother...

"N-nothing.." Harry choked out as he was led away by Ludo Bagman to be positioned ten feet away from him. He wanted to tell him to use bubble-head charm...he wanted to know if he was well enough to save Ron...

And he felt like he was going to faint as he gazed at the vast, fathoms-deep lake and pictured his Georgie...his sweetheart...lying somewhere below on the bed of the lake in Merlin knows what condition..

And he couldn't wait to jump into the lake and save him... swim as fast as he could and clutch him close and bring him back to safety...hold him dearly close and never let him go...

He stripped to his boxers and stood ready with his wand, the cold air raising goosebumps on his bare skin.

"Our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle," Bagman's booming voice, amplified by sonorous charm, echoed across the dark water toward the stands, "They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One...two...three!"

The whistle echoed shrilly in the cold, still air, and with it, broke out a thunderous shriek of cheers and applause from the stands.

Fred gave a swift flick of his wand, and the spell was cast nonverbally due to his acute sense of need and impatience, covering his nose and mouth in a protective oxygen-producing bubble, and he waded out into the sub-zero lake.

The chilly water stabbed at his skin like a thousand sharp, pointed needles, but he didn't care. He gritted his teeth and stepped further and further into the depths of the lake, and soon felt his feet slipping over flat, slimy stones and then hovering over nothing but frigid water...

He was neck-deep in water now, a cruelly cold breeze lifting his dry hair for one last time before he plunged down...

The only thing which seemed normal once he was completely under the water was his breathing. Pure, fresh oxygen passed through his nose and mouth as he stared around at the lake, filling his lungs and keeping him alive and invigorated. But what seemed abnormal and unbearable was...

The frigid water pressing around his body.

It felt as though his blood was being frozen into ice, his bare skin was extremely numb, and his eyeballs were replaced with ice-cubes...

He kicked his feet hard and brought his arms over his head, and began to move in the water as fast as he could; he needed to move without stopping to prevent himself from stiffening into an ice-sculpture...

He dived into the depths of the lake. His arms seemed to glow oddly with a muted, greenish-grey light of the lake.

He had soon swum so far into the lake that he could no longer see the rocky, dusty bottom. Silence pressed upon his ears as he passed a strange, dark, foggy landscape. He could see only about ten feet around him. After gaining a bit momentum, he streamlined his body into a tapered posture, his legs straight and toes held together while he kept his arms to his sides, to streak efficiently through the water, and swam sinuously above forests of swaying dark, tangled weeds.

He occasionally saw small, silver streaks as fishes darted across him; once or twice he thought he saw something larger moving ahead of him; but when he drew nearer, he found that they were merely some drifting, rotting log, or dense clump of weeds.

_Where's my love where's he...?_

He swam faster when George's innocent, smiling face flashed across his mind. There was no sign of the other champions, their beloved ones, merpeople; nor thankfully, the giant squid.

He then passed through a row of rocky, small, cave-like structures full of rotting weeds and small, bizarre creatures crawling over the rocks at a snail's pace. Something about the place did not seem right, and he changed his course and began swimming away from the place when, without warning, he felt something latching on to his calf painfully. He whirled around to find a grindylow, a small, horned, water-demon, clutching his calf, its thin, pointed nails sinking into his flesh.

"Relashio!" he yelled, pointing his wand at it; his voice rang clear and loud in the water thanks to the air surrounding his mouth, and the grindylow's grip loosened and it was thrown backward forcefully.

He swam swiftly, away from the murky caves. A few more grindylows attacked him as he streaked away, and he threw the releasing spell over his shoulder randomly at them one after another, while he continued swimming at top speed, until the attack finally subsided.

The silence pressing into his eardrums was more intense, and he knew that he was much deeper in the lake now. His skin was now utterly devoid of any sensation, his body felt light and, to be more exact, non-existent. He whirled around in the water, looking around, and vast field of mud was all that he could see. He was freaking out so bad that he was surprised why he wasn't fainting, then shuddered, thinking that he _must _stay strong for his Georgie..and swam forward with renewed vigour, his heart paining with acute fear when he realized he was swimming forward aimlessly, without an inkling on where his Georgie might be.

He then saw half-Krum-half-_shark_ (he looked appalling; Fred could make out that his human-transfiguration was shoddily done) a good twenty feet away from him, zooming forward to his right side. He was definitely swifter than him in his shark-form.

Fred went with his gut-feeling (his mind quickly figured that Krum might have enhanced olfactory senses due to his shark form and must be going in the right direction) and followed him, swimming forward with all his might, ignoring the way he couldn't feel his arms and limbs...or any part of his body.

_God let him be going in the right direction let him be..._

His love's sweet whispers were filling his head hauntingly; his words of love, his words of comfort..

_Let there be plenty of time left..plenty of time left to save my love..._

He was flying forward now, Krum's form streaking far ahead of him, swimming as fast as a human possibly could, pushing his body to its absolute limits, a feverish, fierce determination taking over him...

_I'll save you sweetheart I'll save you no matter what I will I will..._

He was swimming so fast in his mania that he was right behind Krum now, in spite of shark-Krum's advantage over him in speed.

He was neck-to-neck with Krum now.

Krum's half-human-half-shark face scowled at him. Fred wanted to say that he wasn't competing against him, the love for his man was making him zoom forward in his super-human speed; but he found that his jaws were jammed together, whether in concentration, or due to trepidation, or the unbearable chill, he knew not.

They were passing over vast expanses of black mud now, which was swirling murkily as they disturbed the water. Then, at long last, he heard a snatch of the eerie mersong..

_"...your time's half gone, so tarry not_

_Lest what you seek stays here to rot..."_

_'Stays here to rot'_ Fred thought angrily _...I'll kill each and every fucking merpeople...and they'll be the ones rotting...'stays here to rot'...fucking pricks..._

A cluster of crude stone dwellings stained with algae loomed suddenly out of the gloom on all sides. Here and there, Fred saw merpeople, standing with spears clutched in their hands in front of their cave-dwellings. They looked nothing like the beautiful mermaid in the prefects' bathroom. They were _ugly, _with their grayish skin, long, wild, dark-green hair, yellow, broken teeth and eyes the same colour as their teeth. They all stood watching Fred, watching him excitedly as he zoomed past them at top speed. He couldn't see Krum anywhere near him now, and thought dimly why he fell behind, but did not dwell on it for more than a split second, since his heart was now leaping with anticipation; he had a feeling that he was nearing his Georgie...

Then, a very strange sight met his eyes.

In the middle of what looked like a colony of merpeople, with many of them crowded right there in the middle, singing their eerie song, rose a huge statue of a gigantic merperson hewn from a boulder. Amidst the horde of merpeople, was Harry, with the merpeople around him snapping and snarling angrily at him.

And, bound tightly to the tail of the statue of the merperson were four people, their hair swaying gently in the water. They all were in very deep sleep. Hermione...a silver haired girl...

His eyes focused swiftly on the flaming red heads of two of his beloved people..

And one among them was his soul mate...

George, his pale face innocent and pure as he slept on peacefully, a fine stream of bubbles issuing from his slightly parted lips, had his head resting limply on Ron's head, while Ron had his resting on George's shoulders.

His dear brothers...

_Hurry hurry hurry..._

Fred kicked his legs and propelled forward quickly. Harry had strange gills on his neck and webbed feet. He was arguing heatedly with the merpeople, but couldn't make a sound; great bubbles were only what he was able to produce from his mouth instead of sound. The stupid mermen were taunting Harry as he tried speaking. Then they spotted Fred rushing forward to them, and stopped leering to point at him animatedly.

Fred swam up to the boulder, and half-expected the mermen to close around him too, trying to deter him from his task, but none of them came forward.

He pulled himself to a stop in front of his brothers, and saw that they were tied around the waist with thick, slimy, and extremely strong ropes of weed. He grabbed the rope and yanked it roughly, but they did not budge in the slightest. He did what the sanest thing he could think of the next: he gave an urgent flick to his wand clutched at his right hand, thinking with all his might for a sharp, steel razor blade, and was relieved when a small blade was conjured on his left palm. (Conjuring objects was advanced transfiguration, but he had found that he could, at times, conjure things, at least small objects, when in sheer need).

He began cutting the ropes around George, careful not to cause him injury while doing so, and a great weight was lifted off his chest when George was released from the bonds. He held him around his waist and threw his limp weight over his shoulder, then looked back at Harry, thinking why he wasn't taking Ron; he was desperately trying to convince something to the mermen.

"What's it?" Fred yelled at Harry.

Harry swam toward him impatiently, the mermen following him closely, and worriedly pointed at Hermione and Ron, then pointed sharply at Hermione once more.

Fred ran his eyes impatiently over the silver-haired girl, who he was sure could only be Fleur's sister, then back to Hermione and Ron, and yelled quickly, bursting to swim up to safety as early as possible, "Krum's coming, Harry! Don't worry about Hermione! Take care of Ron!" and he hastily thrust the blade to Harry (the mermen started leaping forward to them) "Hurry Harry! Hurry!" he yelled frantically, then gripped his love tight, holding him close to his chest, and kicked his feet hard and propelled them both upward, after making sure that Harry was cutting up Ron's ropes and not wasting his time arguing pointlessly with the merpeople.

It was really difficult to move up with George's limp weight; his weight was dragging him down. He kicked and thrashed with all his strength, heaving them upward. He looked skyward to find dark water above him, and knew that they were deep under the lake, far below the surface.

He was drawing breath with extreme difficulty, even with the bubble around his mouth. A few merpeople rose up with them, their spears held ready in their hands, watching him struggle. What would happen if they're outside the time limit? Will the ugly merpeople pounce upon them the moment the time's up and drag them down? Maybe have his Georgie for dinner right in front of him while they kept him tied to that humungous stone statue?

That was enough to give Fred's muscles unnatural strength, and he thrust upward as fast as he could...toward the water above him, which was steadily turning brighter with each kick of his legs...

_Well make it out of here, Georgie..we'll be back to safety...you and I..._

The water around him was way brighter..he could see his love's hair shining red in the muted light...

_We're going to be okay, Georgie...I've got you here...pressed against my chest...close to my heart..._

And then, he felt his head break the surface of the lake: bright, beautiful world with the gaping skies above as the ceiling instead of dark water greeted them.

The crowd in the stands were screaming like mad. They all seemed to be on their feet.

He immediately looked down at George's head resting limply on his shoulder...

His bones began to chill...

"Georgie! Georgie! Georgie!" he whimpered frenziedly, shaking him by his shoulder. Was he ... too ... late ...-

Before he could be paralysed with terror, though, George gasped hard, then spluttered and spat water through his nose and mouth, coughing and choking...

His eyes flew open and he jerked his head up, looking at Fred, and without a word, hugged him tight, then pulled back just as quick.

He was grinning endearingly, "Freddie!" he exclaimed simply, before kissing his cheek hard, "Were you worried, darling?" he asked.

"Never had been more in my life.." Fred said, relief washing over him as he grinned and hugged him back, then added as he grew calmer, "What a stupid question to ask, git.."

* * *

**Yeah, so that was the longest chapter I've ****_ever_**** written in my life! I NEED reviews! :D PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE!**


	31. Chapter 31

They waded back toward the edge of the lake and trembled their way toward the lowermost seat of the stands reserved for the champions and their hostages, quaking and numb with cold as they clutched on to each other tight and walked slowly, the crowd screaming wildly as they made their way. Bagman's magically amplified voice boomed across the stands, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the first champion to complete his task is Fred Weasley of Hogwarts!"

Dumbledore smiled pleasantly at them, Karkaroff seemed irked, Percy seemed oddly pleased as he sat there looking at them with a tentative smile instead of his usual bumptious bearing.

Madam Pomfrey swooped down on them with thick blankets, and they gladly draped it over themselves. She forced a good measure of a very hot potion down their throats, which made steam gush out of their ears, and Fred immediately felt warmth spreading through his body and sensation returning to his numb skin, and they stopped shivering uncontrollably.

"Georgie.." Fred greedily took in George's form as he sat close to him, towelling his hair dry, thinking how close he had been to losing him, "When did they take you away?"

George stopped ruffling his hair and pulled the towel away from his face to look at him, "I heard an odd knocking sound from the door at around midnight. You were fast asleep, so I thought not to disturb you, and opened the door to find an owl hovering near the door with a note," he reached out and started towelling Fred's hair, "It said that I was to report to McGonagall's office as soon as possible, wherever I was. I thought of waking you up, but decided against it; thinking how little sleep you had for the past few days, so..." he trailed off and stopped massaging his head with the towel, looking at him, smiling.

Fred gazed at him devotedly, smiling stupidly, eyes brimming with love (being mad in love made people stupid, he thought) "Georgie...I was so scared..you cant even fathom how much I-"

"Freddie, you idiot!" George laughed, then hugged him without caring about the world around them, "Stupid, silly idiot.." he laughed as he ruffled his hair fondly with a hand (Fred loved the way his blue eyes crinkled and his cheeks turned rosy as he laughed), "Well, I must say I myself am an idiot too...we both are the world's greatest dungbrains..Now ask me why, baby..." his voice was playful and engaging.

"Why..." he was grinning (without any reason) as he gazed at his twin's smiling face.

"That song was a load of dragonshit..it was just a ploy to make us return within the time-limit..d'you think Dumbledore would've let us die just cause you did not turn up within an hour?

And Fred felt stupid. His smile faded as he narrowed his eyes, "'_you're past an hour so tarry not or else your lover will rot..."_ he shook his head disbelievingly, "_you've got an hour before we gobble up your lover...too late its gone forever.._what a fucking annoying way to make a fool out of people..these mer-fucking-people have a cruel sense of humour.." he felt really, really stupid and annoyed (a thorough understatement). "What the fuck..this whole thing was a fucking rude joke!" and he felt his fingers quiver slightly with anger, "First, they say they'll take a 'thing' that I'll miss..then that '_thing_' turns out to be a living and breathing human who happens to be the one I love the most; that in itself is fucking mad, and a bloody rude thing to do!" he was breathing fast, "Then they say that they'll bloody kill my loved ones, only to finally laugh and say that they were just kidding!" his face felt hot with anger.

George watched him with surprise mingled with slight worry at his sudden burst of anger, "Freddie..calm down..just take it as a, as a harmless joke..just like the jokes we like to play on-"

"Well, I can't!" he said a bit loudly, glowering at George in his anger, "We never play jokes like this! Have we ever threatened someone with murder?! Then laugh and say we were just fucking joking?! Well, that's not even fucking funny!"

People around them started to turn their gaze toward them. "Freddie, its okay.." George laid a hand on his, giving him a soothing look, ever the epitome of calmness, "I'm safe, we're safe..that's all that matters.."

His voice softened as he said, "You don't know a thing, Georgie..you don't know how m-much mental strain and fear and- and pain I went through..." his eyes suddenly brimmed with tears, "Y-you d-don't know a thing.."

George squeezed his hand tight, his eyes swimming with deep emotions, "I know, Freddie..I know how it feels..." he said softly, then engulfed him in a warm hug, patting his back gently. He pulled away quickly, then smiled softly and said, "Git, stop hamming it up, kay? You can pull your tricks to get a hot kiss from me in our bed, not here in front of everyone.."

Fred was still sulking as he sat absently picking a loose thread of the blanket wrapped around him, and George draped an arm around him companionably, "Freddie..." he bumped against him playfully, "Stop being grouchy-grouchy..." he crooned softly, "Or else you'll miss our bed-time ouchy-ouchy..."

And that was enough to make him laugh, even though he elbowed him on his ribs and said "That wasn't funny.." and he mentally showered affectionate abuses at his true love for knowing the right words to say and make him laugh.

Just then, they saw Fleur rising up from the lake, looking frightened and dishevelled. Several people rushed forward to help her toward the bank. She was without her hostage.

"Oh no! Oh no!" she was hysterical as they led her toward the stands, "Oh mon Gabrielle! Mon Gabrielle!" she wailed.

Madam Pomfrey pounced on her with her blankets and potion. She literally had to wrestle with Fleur to put the blanket over her and force the potion into her mouth.

"Damn ze grindylows!" she shrieked as Madam Pomfrey tried holding her from jumping into the water again, "Oh no! I will lose my seester because of ze damned grindylows!" she cried loudly. Madam Maxime hurried over, and held her with her enormous arms so that she couldn't run off toward the lake, and she couldn't even move after that, let alone run, though she was trying pointlessly to squirm away from Madam Maxime's clutches, wailing continuously.

"Poor thing.." George said, and Fred could tell that he really empathised with her. Fred's heart beat stronger and truer for his love; he now fully understood the depth behind his loud, heartbreaking screams, his nails digging into his shoulders, his soft moans and laboured breaths against his neck, as he had his nightmares...

"Georgie.." he reached out and held his love's hand under the blanket, and rubbed the pulse on his wrist with a thumb, "Guess I shouldn't have had the outburst after all..cause.." he smiled lovingly at George, "cause that was a well-deserved punishment I got for faking my death and scaring you when we were young...for teasing you about your nightmares.." (George rolled his eyes and smiled), "well, I never had properly apologized for scaring you so cruelly, my love," (now George was goggling at him in disbelief), Fred continued on seriously, "so I'm asking you for your forgiveness now, Georgie, nice and proper: forgive me, love, for hurting you and adding fuel to the fire and making you have worse nightmares, cause, I reckon you wouldn't be having such a bad case of nightmares if you hadn't have suffered frequent shocks.."

"Freddie, shut up you pra-"

"And I'm asking for your forgiveness once again for attempting to kill myself. I'm a fucking arsehole, but I love you, Georgie, so don't you ever have any resentment against me for acting like the moron that I am...for being imperfect, for hurting you time and again with my thoughtless acts..." he whispered tenderly.

George was rendered speechless. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before saying in a poorly feigned exasperated voice, which came out choked, "You are the world's biggest idiot, d'you realize that?" he smiled his soft smile, "Stuff your stupid apologies..and you won't sleep tonight.." and added in a gentle whisper which sounded like beautiful chimes in the wind, with a tiny, crooked smile that made Fred's heart skip a beat, "cause I won't let you..."

Then, Krum (his transfiguration had lost its effect and he was back to human-Krum) emerged out of the water, spluttering and gasping, with Hermione (who spat out a spout of water from her mouth) cradled in his arms. He came splashing out of the water, Hermione swinging in his arms as though she was just a weightless twig.

They were tackled by Madam Pomfrey, then made their way toward Fred and George. Hermione looked quite carefree, grinning and waving at them as she walked, while behind her, Krum looked surly as he gazed at them and slouched on.

Hermione asked as she came near, "Are you the first, Fred?"

Fred nodded, grinning.

Hermione beamed, "Oooh! Well done, Fred!" she sat quickly beside Fred, towelling her bushy hair, "Where were you two? They were searching everywhere for you! What spell did you use? I don't know if Harry figured out a way to breathe underwater. Did you see him? Or Ron? "

Krum, looking extra-grumpy, sat beside Hermione, looking disapprovingly at the back of her head.

"Dear me," Fred raised his brows teasingly, "quite a lot questions you have there, my little brain is struggling to remember the first question. We, unlike you, do not have super-human brain powers, you see.." he grinned (Krum glowered, thinking he was trying to act smart before his girlfriend with his humour) "George, what was the first question?"

"It wasn't a question, git..it was a compliment..." George replied in a mock-bored tone.

"Oh yeah," Fred noticed Krum scowling harder, and he felt a mischievous impulse to act as though he was flirting with Hermione, "Oh, thanks 'Mione" (Krum winced), "I'm...I'm...speechless. I mean, you..complimenting _me_..Merlin, that's a dream come true... what was the second compliment, George?"

"It wasn't a compliment, git...it was a question..'where were you?'" George tried hard to conceal his laughter, cottoning on that Fred was simply trying to wind Krum up.

"Oh, where was I..hmm..your usual question, 'Mione..." (George coughed to conceal a laugh, Hermione seemed a bit confused, Krum looked ready to explode), "George and I were searching frantically for a spell for the task," he said truthfully.

"But you weren't there in the library.." Hermione said with creased brows, "Harry, Ron and I were in there since half past six until eight..and we saw you neither there nor in the common room..we were called up to McGonagall's office by half past eight.."

"Ah" George said, "we were going to the library when we were chased by Filch and ran into a-" Fred stamped his twin's foot to stop him from saying the truth. He realized that he wanted it to be their little secret room, where they could escape from the world and love each other to their heart's content.

"Into a dungeon.." Fred said, "we hid there until the shrivelled shrimp limped out of our way..then went to the library under disillusionment charm and found what we needed in the restricted section.."

Hermione seemed not to believe him, "But in the restricted section-"

"Hush!" Fred said, "My brain can't handle too many questions right now..its sore at the moment due to the aftershock of the task...and you answer the remaining questions, George.."

"We used bubble-head charm..." he said, smiling amiably, "And- wait, I don't know the answer to the last question. Did you see Harry, Fred?" George looked at him, frowning.

"Oh yeah, looking handsome with some gills and webbed feet," he laughed, looking at Hermione, "he was trying to save you too along with Ron, but I told him not to worry since Krum here was coming to your rescue," (Krum kept scowling grumpily), "Dunno why it's taking him so long, though..."

"Herm-own-ninny," Krum called her, glowering at them, "do you need something to drink? You haff been in a sleep ever since yesterday evening.."

"Oh, no," she said hastily, then turned back to Fred and George, a worried expression on her face, "Oh but why are they taking so long- oh!" her gaze landed on Fleur for the first time. She had her head in her hands now, sobbing uncontrollably, "what's wrong with her? She looks a bit bruised.."

"She got attacked by grindylows, and returned without her hostage.." George said.

"Oh! But she need not worry, because-"

"Because that song was a truck-load of rubbish.." Fred nodded sagely, "I know, George told me.."

Krum suddenly opened his mouth and spoke to Fred for the first time, "You should not haff done that to vin," he spoke quietly, glowering.

Fred was flummoxed, "Done what?"

"Kicked me on my face. You kicked me on my face vail you vaire swimming in front. That was not good."

Fred was surprised, at the same time sorry for what he had done, "Oh! I'm really sorry," he grinned apologetically, "I never knew I kicked you..I did not do it on purpose..Merlin's pants..I'd never kick anyone to win...it's a juvenile and stupid-"

"No," Krum ground out, cutting him short, "It is okay. You don't haff to vorry.."

Fred exchanged a guilty, sheepish look with George, who winked and gave a relaxing squeeze to his hand, still under the blanket twined with his.

"Oh God.." Hermione looked really anxious, "why aren't they coming..?"

But Fred sat quite relaxed; knowing that they'd make out alive for sure, that the worst they could suffer was a bad case of sniffles or a head-cold after the task...

There was a great splashing noise, and they looked at the lake to find Harry (he lost his gills and webbed feet and was back to normal) erupting from the lake with Ron, and the small, silver haired girl, Gabrielle, to a wild round of applause from the crowd. Fred and George immediately got to their feet to help them.

Fleur let out a loud shriek, thinking that her sister was dead as she was being carried by Harry. "Gabrielle! _Gabrielle!_" she fought tooth and nail with Madam Maxime, who finally released her grip on her, and she dashed forward, "Is she alive? Is she 'urt?!" She let out a huge moan of relief when she saw her sister squirming out of Harry's arms and standing on the bank, and hugged her tight.

Harry looked clearly the most fatigued of the champions, except Fleur, since he had to carry two people at a time. Fred and George helped him and Ron to their feet.

"Geroff George, I'm okay!" Ron said as George fussed over him. ("Prat, you've got a weed stuck in your nostril!").

After Madam Pomfrey's fussing and fretting, they made their way back to the stands. Hermione jumped and showered Harry with questions. The judges were now huddled together in a deep conversation.

Fleur, meanwhile, hurried over to them, her face covered with cuts and bruises, her robes torn, shirking Madam Pomfrey's attempts to help her. She was beaming at Harry, "You saved 'er, even though she was not your 'ostage!" and bent down and planted a kiss on his cheek, "and you too 'elped.." she swooped down and gave Ron a kiss, who looked dazed and went beet red.

"Historic moment.." George grinned, "Wonniekins just got his first kiss!"

"Ah, I'm feeling bad for that poor girl," Fred had an identical grin, "her lips might be itchy already...hope she wouldn't have slugs spewing out of her mouth next..."

Ron ignored their jibes and said animatedly, "Blimey, you two were the first to come out of the lake? That's- that's unbelievable! Show the same flair in the next task and thousand galleons will be ours!"

"Ours?" Fred and George said with raised brows, "You won't be allowed within a ten metre radius from _our_ galleons, git.." Fred said with a snort.

Ludo Bagman's magically magnified voice boomed out beside them, making them all jump. The crowd in the stands suddenly went very quiet.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions, as follows-

"Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of bubble-head charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty five points.

"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective, and was second to return with his hostage. We award him forty points.

"Harry Potter used gilly-weed to great effect. He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, Merchieftainess informs us that Mr. Potter was first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own. Most of the judges (he gave Karkaroff a nasty look) feel that this shows moral fiber and merits full marks. However, Mr. Potter's score is forty-five points,"

They all screamed and pounced on Harry, squeezing and squashing him while they thumped his back. They could hear Gryffindors cheering manically.

"There you go, Harry! You weren't being thick after all, you were showing moral fiber!" Ron said, laughing.

"Fred Weasley, who also used the bubble-head charm, was first to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside the time-limit of an hour." There was a thunderous roar and applause from the Gryffindor's block of the stands. "Oh! Did we?" Fred said softly. George, however, was grinning at him affectionately. "We, therefore, award him forty-seven points, and is consequently declared the winner of this task."

There was a shocked silence, when the roars in the background grew muted for Fred, when he gaped open-mouthed at George, Ron, Harry and Hermione. George suddenly let out a squeal.

"Forty-seven! Winner! Freddie!" George exclaimed and fell on him, hugging him tight and rumpling his hair. Through the strands of George's red hair, he could see Ron punching the air with joy, then falling hard on George's back, hugging them, and he had to smile quietly against George's shoulder.

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**Please review!**


	32. Chapter 32

**Did I forget to mention that Fred is the elder one? :D If you'd have noticed it, he sometimes refers to George as 'his baby brother'. Just wanted to clear that.. Alright, then.. enjoy! :D**

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"I think these fruit pastilles will be perfect," George had his forefinger pressed to the glass behind which was displayed Freak's Frooty Pastilles. It was the first weekend after the second task, and they were in Honeydukes, and meant serious business as they stood there debating what sweet to buy.

"I guess we should buy something high in sugar content so that it would react well with hiccupping potion and turn vomit-inducing..remember Lee adding sugar instead of moonstone and puking when he took his potion for antidote testing?" Fred was eyeing apple and custard bag.

"Fruit pastilles are definitely sweeter than what you're looking at," George said, tracing his line of sight and looking adamant.

Fred's lips tugged up in a small smile as he watched his love's stubborn expression, "We'll try it out, then.." Fred said as he took out their bag of galleons. They had a total of 31 galleons, 12 sickles and 16 knuts after the latest owl delivery service of their joke stuff. They decided that it was high time they start developing new and better products and expand their business. Fred thought, anger coursing through him as he thought, that they'd have had 69 galleons 10 sickles and 19 knuts with them now if only they weren't tricked by Bagman.

Fred tried out the sweets under their debate, "Right, then..fruit pastilles are sweeter.." he agreed, grinning.

George smiled, "Freddie..why bother questioning my decisions when you know I have more brains than you..."

They paid for their purchase, and left Honeydukes with a bagful of pastilles on which they intended to start working from that evening.

A cool wind was rushing through the alleys of Hogsmeade, lifting their long hair. Wisps of dark grey clouds drifted high above them, a touch of dampness lurked in the air as the skies threatened to unleash a light drizzle.

To Fred, the dull weather seemed beautifully ethereal as he walked with his true love. Muted grey light falling on George's porcelain skin, wind whipping about his long, sleek hair; he lived to see this, to see how George transformed into an exquisite beauty with each subtle changes in the light or wind around him, to see his delicately sculpted lips move as he talked, to see his eyes locking on to his, to hear his voice, hear him breathe, feel his touch, feel his warmth...

He lived for George.

He had his eyes only for George as they walked on and on into the far perimeter of Hogsmeade, far away from the crowd.

The winding lane was leading them out into the wild countryside around Hogsmeade. The cottages were fewer here, their gardens larger, the dirt-road turning dustier and the thickets turning thornier and wilder, with tiny, bright flowers here and there, peeping at them from the bushes.

They had been here quite a lot during their third year, the year they were first permitted Hogmeade trips.

But all those times, they came here as brothers discussing their pranks, Marauders Map clutched in their hand, heads stuck together, whispering animatedly, their excited breaths mingling in the short distance between their moving lips, their quick exclamations and quiet giggles heard by the small rocks and shrubs around them as they sat on boulders on the gentle rise of the mountain in whose shadow Hogsmeade lay.

They trudged up the rise, hitching up the collar of their beige overcoats high against the fresh mountain wind beating directly on them. They sat down on a rocky patch with blades of grass peeking out tentatively as March drew near, holding hands, after their long walk, the familiar willowy trees surrounding them, the enjoyably cool wind ruffling their mane and calming them.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" George murmured after a short, comfortable silence. He was gazing at the village of Hogsmeade sprawled out before them. Roofs of tiny cottages with smoke rising out of some tiny chimneys, tops of trees swaying, lanes twisting and turning to meet other lanes, the horizon meeting the slate-grey sky..

Yes, it was beautiful to watch the world from up here.

"Mhm.." Fred held his warm hand tight, "We used to come here a lot in our third year, when we weren't so caught up with our joke stuffs...discussing when to creep out into the forbidden forest, or when to discover another secret passageway.." he reminisced with a soft smile. He then looked deep into his eyes, "Georgie, did you ever have an inkling back then that we would, you know, one day become lovers and, make love and all.."

A delighted shudder ran through him as he thought of 'making love'. They were having a truly amazing sex life; they made love every night, slinking off into their secret room (they found that it changed from half-library to a complete bedroom now, and had a red-theme intermingling the white, which, they surmised, was because of Fred), and returned to their dorm before dawn. They weren't complaining about being a little sleep deprived. They solved the problem by conking off in History of Magic, free periods, a few hours before breakfast, and in Divination (they told Prof. Trelawney that they were 'invoking their inner-eye').

George had his nose crinkled slightly in contemplation as he stared straight ahead at the horizon, "Well...hm.. Did I think back then? Um..I never thought back then, no.." he said finally, turning and looking at Fred with a small smile, "Did you?" he asked him in return.

Fred thought about it deeply. He had definitely admired George's looks back then too; his cute manner and his innocent smile..and his 'dot', he thought with a smile and absently reached out and traced his finger right there on his neck. He liked his calmness, that was his greatest virtue...he was cool-headed most of the time unless highly provoked. That balanced them out. George had always been the one who controlled his occasional raging bursts of temper...who restrained his reckless actions...

They were like yin and yang...they had their differences, but still had parts of one another within them..

Fitted perfectly against each other..needed each other to be whole...

There was a difference between liking and 'yearning'...he never felt like fucking his brains out back then...his prick did not throb with want back then...

But they always used to express their love with innocent caresses and light kisses on their cheeks...

"What I think is that, I loved you back then too...like a childhood sweetheart, you know.." he finally whispered softly, looking quietly at his love, "yeah..but I have to agree that I never saw this coming..."

He vividly remembered the night when he first felt the animal growling savagely with want and desire for his twin as they lay discussing entering their names for the tournament..and then discovering, like a boulder hitting his chest, that he had never, until then, felt his dick hardening for anyone... Normal blokes usually felt that happen by the time they reach puberty, didn't they...but he wasn't normal...

It was like he was neither straight nor gay...the one and only person he grew hard for was the one who was sitting beside him right now, holding his hand, gazing leisurely at the cool grey skies...

"Georgie.." he asked suddenly, he wanted to know it, right now... "Did you ever feel attracted to anyone before me?" he quickly added, smiling easily, "Now don't you worry, darling..I won't go all jealous and monster-like and suicidal..." he chuckled.

George scrunched up his face in thought, "Um..." he then quickly looked sideways at him with a sly smile, "you sure you won't go monster-like?"

Fred's heart prickled a teeny tiny bit (really, really microscopic), as he said, "Yep.." with a casual smile.

"Um..er..well, there was this..you know..er.." George went into his shilly-shally-spell.

"There was this...?" Fred's heart was bursting with anticipation.

"This someone whom I know..." George was blinking at the sky.

"I'll push you and make you roll down this mountain if you won't stop st-"

"This one er, guy.."

"Guy...?" his love was gay right from the start, alright.

"Yeah..guy..." George's mouth was slightly open as he squinted up at the sky.

"Who...?" he asked in a casually interested, mild tone.

"This one guy in Gryffindor..." he was absently pulling at a grass as his gaze stayed fixed at the sky.

"I'll really, really push you hard-"

"Guy who was in our Quidditch team..I used to unknowingly gaze at his lean muscles while he undressed in the changing room.."

"Wood?" Fred asked incredulously.

"Er...no.."

"Irk me more and you'll find your dick-"

George suddenly looked down from the sky and pushed him down on to the ground in one swift motion, pining him to the ground by his wrists, "Weren't my hints obvious, sweetheart?" he hissed seductively, his demeanour changing so rapidly that it stunned Fred, "You wanna hear it from me..?" he kissed his jaw slowly.

Fred now knew the answer.

"Hn..git..but I'm still in the team.." Fred breathed.

"No..you're not..Quidditch's barred this year..." he whispered into his ear, nipping it lightly.

"Clever way that was to confuse me..." Fred gasped as George breathed against his neck, skimming his lips over his adam's apple, "using 'was'..I..hn..thought Wood c-cause h-he.." George opened the buttons of his beige overcoat, "nnh..l-left H-Hogw- aaaaahh.."

George just closed his mouth over his nipple, sucking on it through his shirt.

"Merlin, you..ngh..tormenter.." Fred moaned, grabbing George's hair and pulling it hard. He started rocking his hips instinctively, his needy cock aching for some friction.

George chuckled softly against his chest, and pulled away, pulling Fred up with him to a sitting position.

"Freddie..." George grinned his cute grin which he alone can pull off, and hugged him, and gave an affectionate, hard, noisy kiss on his cheek, "I love you so much..." he said with almost a childlike enthusiasm.

"I love you more.." Fred whispered softly against his lips for perhaps the millionth time, the intensity of his words growing only fiercer every time.

After exchanging some passionate kisses, they sat there for another hour..talking about family, friends, joke shop dreams, friends, family, again joke shop dreams...

"D'you think Lee would notice our disappearances at night..?" George asked, squinting up at him. He had his head on his lap now as he lay on the ground, and Fred stroked his hair carefully.

"Nah..he would've definitely asked by now if he would've noticed it...besides, his sleep means 'dead until 6.30 in the morning'..so he wouldn't notice it even if a dragon would stomp in to our dorm..." Fred said, observing the black pupils in his blue irises and the way it reflected the sky above.

"Hm, he said, while you were busy pestering Ron this morning, that he's inviting Angelina over to his place this summer.."

"Hmm.." Fred smirked, "his dream's finally true..well, I'm happy for him.." he chuckled, "poor guy's been asking her out since our third year..but Angelina was never into boys..atleast that was what it seemed like to me...it was always Quidditch and her girlfriends..well, that was until I asked her out..."

George smirked playfully at him, "Mh, yeah..she fell for my prince charming," he imitated Fred accurately by narrowing his eyes and clenching his jaws, "_you're mine..you're mine..not hers..only mine.._" he growled throatily through his teeth.

Fred rapped his head sharply, "Shut up, prat!" he laughed.

"So.." George tipped his head back to look at him, "We'll need hiccupping potion for our fruit pastilles...how d'you reckon we get it?"

"Nick it, I s'pose..." Fred said coolly, "don't worry about it..we always get what we need, don't we?"

"Hmm..." George plucked a blade of grass by its roots and absently offered it to Fred, who took it in his right hand with a small smile, "We always do...I won't deny that...but..." George gazed at the skies dreamily and sighed deeply, "Will we get what we pine for the most..."

"What d'you pine for more than me?" Fred joked, though he knew what his twin was talking about.

"Git..you know what I'm talking about..." George mumbled as he lazily traced circles with a finger over Fred's thigh.

He knew...he was talking about buying a shop, at least a small one for now, so that they could modestly begin their small business...then rake in galleons over time...then buy a bigger shop as their products would grow in number, and quality, and variety...and earn more...and some more...

And finally buy a house for them both...a nice little comfy cottage...

Surrounded by violet hills, far away from everyone...

"I know, sweetheart..." Fred trailed a finger gently over his curvy lips.

"Mh..It's my greatest wish, Freddie..second only to being with you..." his warm breath ghosted across his finger as he whispered.

"We'll try our best to make it happen, Georgie..." he lovingly caressed his face, rubbing his palms up and down gently along his jaw, "It's as great a wish of mine as it is yours.."

George suddenly drew in a sharp breath through his nose, as though remembering something. His face oddly hardened, as though infuriated, and Fred was wondering, surprised and confused, what he had said to make him angry.

"Georgie...?"

"Percy sent us a letter..." he murmured, and groped in the pocket of his pants, "it was delivered late at night..poor owl was almost dead after flapping its wings and knocking its beak hard onto the wall by the time I finally woke up and opened the door.." he took out a _crumpled _parchment, "read for yourself...his _valuable words of advice_..." George spat out the last words contemptuously, and thrust the ball of parchment to his right hand.

Fred straightened out the crumpled ball, and read:

_Dear Fred,_

_First of all, Congratulations! That was really marvellous; I never expected you to be the one to finish the task first!_

_I must mention here that I gave you full marks, and that played a pivotal role in you securing the highest points. But, never mind that!_

_Now, Fred, you being in this tournament in itself is a remarkable credit, a valuable point to mention while applying for Ministry jobs; and looking at the way you're performing, I am sure you will be the one winning the thousand galleons.(and I'm not counting chickens before they hatch when I say that you'll be the one winning the tournament!)_

_Now, the reason why I am sending you this letter is to advise you of certain things related to the above mentioned matter (winning the galleons!)._

_I know that you, and George, can be really careless and immature while dealing with such things. When you are receiving such a huge sum, DO NOT get over-excited and mess it all up. DO NOT fall into the temptation to spend it negligently (since having too much money tempts you to do that!)._

_I am aware of your joke-stuff dreams, and remember what mum and I said: THIS JOKE-DREAM OF YOURS IS NOTHING BUT JUST THAT- A JOKE, a foolish, childish dream!_

_Fred, just sit and think about it. Sit and think with a calm, clear mind. Try to be serious and dump your careless, devil-may-care attitude while you sit and ponder this: Have you ever heard of people earning their lives off tricks or pranks, or playing and cracking jokes? No! People earn their galleons by WORKING in a permanent, secure and steady job, like myself, or Bill (I am a bit disappointed with Charlie's choice, though)._

_Your selection as a champion reflects your competence, intelligence and bravery (the Goblet selects only the finest of the fine wizards, owing to the difficulty level and rigorous emotional-endurance test of the contestants), and this alone proves your capabilities, and securing a job in the Ministry will be a piece of cake for you now! (I will make sure of that!)_

_Now, ignore your OWLS, and concentrate on your NEWTS next year, and, with you hopefully getting selected as the winner, a great job in the Ministry awaits you!_

_Having said that, I do not want you to waste your money on your foolish joke stuffs. You can even entrust the money to me if you aren't sure about yourself._

_Good luck for your last task!_

_-Percy._

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	33. Chapter 33

George, being the gentle, beautiful being, had simply crumpled the letter into a ball.

Fred, being the hot-headed, wild animal, ripped the letter to tiny scraps, flung it high into the air, whipped out his wand, and yelled "_Incendio!_", so that the bits of paper caught fire mid-air, and the ashes were dispersed to the four corners of the earth by the cool mountain wind.

"Fucking arsehole..." Fred muttered, staring at the last black residue drifting down the slope of the mountain, "Well, I think following around some old coot wiping his arse for the rest of your lives is 'foolish'..or, or..what else did he say? A joke..yeah..a joke..." he muttered through clenched jaws, staring far into the horizon, now shaded a deep blue..almost black.

"Freddie..." came George's sweet, sweet voice...

"Childish...careless...and what else? Immature..." Fred muttered.

George got up from his lap, turned around to face him, and wriggled close to him, his warm breath tickling his face, "Baby..he's stupid..he's, well..he's..tactless.." he whispered sweetly, "He did compliment you for your performance in the tasks, didn't he? What irked me was the way he derided our ambitions..I mean, what right in the hell has he got to speak so scornfully about our dreams, our preferences, our wishes..Did we ever put our oar in his matters, telling him not to strut around like a moron praising himself about how nicely he sniffs his boss' ar-"

"Stop sticking up for him trying to justify his _fucking_ viewpoints even in the _slightest_ way!" Fred barked at his twin's face, "He's an insensitive, rude, fucking idiot, and his fucking rotten advice means shit to me! He can shove his stupid advices up his worthless arse!" he yelled.

George simply chuckled lightly at his anger, "Baby..d'you think I'll ever stick up for him or his viewpoints? You're so silly.." he smiled sweetly, leaned closer, and trapped Fred's bottom lip between his lips, "He's simply tactless, Freddie.." he whispered softly against his lips.

But Fred did not register his last words, because his heart was thundering in his ears and his face felt hot not due to anger, but because of the thrill of George's lips and breath on his mouth.

"Mhnmm baby.." Fred hissed in pleasure, and jerked him close, banging him into his chest and squeezing him tight around his back and grasping his neck firmly, and devoured his mouth, biting and chewing and caressing his tongue with his. He pulled back, and whispered, "You melt me by simply existing, Georgie.." then tilted his head and fused his mouth again, tongue probing every corner, tasting his delicious mouth, drinking in his soft moans.

"Mhn.."

"Hmh.."

"Georgie.." he pulled back, and gazed into his half-lidded eyes, breathing hard, "lets go, baby..its getting so dark..and damn blustery.."

They walked down the slope carefully, holding hands, wands lit and held aloft in their free hands, lighting the rocky, bushy path ahead of them. The nippy wind on their backs nudged them forward.

"And, tell me one thing, baby.." Fred said aloud his sudden thought, "All through the letter, he was going on telling how I'd get a fucking useless job in the Ministry cause of me being a ruddy champion...and, never once did he mention what will become of you while I'll be off strutting about the Ministry..what the hell did he expect of you to become..did he fucking expect me to leave you sitting alone and go gratifying bitchy Ministry officials..while you moped the floor..or, or what..cooked dinner...?" he said, and felt like hexing the nearest tree and split it into two while picturing Percy's moronic face.

George laughed, wrapping an arm around Fred's waist, pulling him close as they walked, "I'd love to cook for you, darling..while I'd wait for you to come back home from work.." he said fondly.

"You're mental.." Fred said simply, instinctively holding George's waist in return, "He's so mean, so insensible..look at the way he simply went on flattering me when he saw the prospect of me bringing laurels to our family..." he heaved a huge sigh, "And the way he simply ignored bothering about you...how bloody indifferent he was to what would become of you. That's so like him..big-headed, arrogant fool...gravitating toward where he smells success, so that he could puff out his chest and display all of his front teeth and boast about how he was the one behind it..while he ignores those who seem lowly by his idiotic standards...does he even know that you're the one behind my every move, every breath, every action, every success..that without you I'd have failed right in the first task, that your care and love helped me heal my wounds, that you were the one who dreamt up our secret room and found the right spell for me.."

And Fred did not realize that he was _rambling_, until George pounced on him and clapped his mouth shut, while he laughed mirthfully, "You're _blathering!_ God, you're just.." he let out a playful growl and bit his ear hard, "Fred idiotic loony babbling crazy nutty Weasley!" he babbled into his ear.

And Fred had to chuckle..

"Mmmm my drop-dead gorgeous mouth-watering sex god.." he moaned seductively, his lips pressed close to his ear, and Fred felt shivers crawl through his neck and ear, travelling down to his heart and right to the pit of his stomach, "I can't wait for you to eat me up as your night-time desert..." he breathed hard and fast into his ear, and Fred _knew_ he was teasing him horribly.

"And if you don't want your tight hole to be fucked right here on the dirt-road, you'll shut up and walk without using me as a crutch..."

"Darling..that was my trick to make _you_ shut up and stop flattering me so terribly..." he laughed, and the disobedient sweet bastard was still using him as a crutch...

"And oh! About healing your wounds...git, that was cause of Madam Pomfrey's healing spells..and that paste that made you look like a Wend-"

"Say that thing's name again and compare me with it and I'll spank your nice, smooth arse tonight.." Fred said warningly.

"Wendigo...wendigo wendigo _wendigo_.." he sang in a made-up tune, laughing.

His love was a sweet, cute twat.

With the start of the summer term came the mighty difficult human transfiguration classes, and apparition practices.

They still had to find out a way to procure the hiccupping potion for their pastilles.

Meanwhile, Madam Pomfrey's short note came flying, tied to a snowy owl's leg, one fine glittering, warm afternoon as they were seated for lunch.

It was short, and a touch of frantic edge was visible in the hastily scribbled, crammed, tiny writing of hers:

_Mr. Weasley,_

_I have finally managed to create the report for your blood analysis, and have found out the culprit. But I must say that instead of concentrating on the culprit, you must give your attention to another matter that has cropped up. Please meet me in my office this evening by half past seven._

"What matter might've cropped up?" George wondered aloud as they climbed up the grand stairs that evening to the first floor corridor.

"We're going to find out, aren't we..well, whatever it might be, its not going to draw my attention away from the culprit.." Fred said, "and plan out the best way to hex his arse a trillion miles right into another universe.."

They knocked on the door to the matron's office, and heard Madam Pomfrey's quiet voice, "Enter,"

They pushed open the door, and entered her tiny, yet neat office; vases of flowers here and there added a homely touch, long pale olive curtains hung at the windows. Madam Pomfrey sat looking at them keenly at her small desk, littered with many parchments and a few empty vials.

"Please make yourselves comfortable," she said as she shuffled a few parchments on her desk, then pulled out a crisp piece of parchment.

"Now, I do not want you to do any harm to the culprit and try punishing him yourselves, but to report it to your head of the house and let her decide what is to be done, and thus deal with this as proper, civilized young wizards are expected to.." she looked at them both with an expectant expression.

"Yeah, we're really civilized," Fred nodded impatiently, eyeing the parchment in her hand with a literally hungry expression.

Madam Pomfrey eyed them carefully, and said shortly, "Alright, we'll see if you're as civilized as you claim, and if you won't be, I will be the first person to know about it, because the person on whom you'll demonstrate your civility will first approach me for help if the civility goes awry...now, before I hand you this report," she gave a small wave to the parchment, "I want to say that I will have to take a sample of your blood again, Mr. Weasley-" she looked at them both, trying to find out who's George, and Fred pointed at his twin sitting beside him, "-Mr. Weasley. Because I have found out a small anomaly, and want to confirm it with a fresh sample of your blood.."

Fred and George exchanged slightly perplexed looks.

"Anomaly?" Fred asked, slightly scared.

Madam Pomfrey smiled genially, "Ah, its nothing to worry about..nothing like some disease or magical ailment or something, no..it is something else...and what it is, I myself am not sure of right now.." she held out the report to them, "Here you go, then.."

And Fred reached out, and took the parchment in his right hand eagerly. George leaned quickly toward him, eagerly sticking his head with his to read what was written in the parchment held between them in Fred's hand.

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	34. Chapter 34

**Blood Analysis Report**

I] Name: George Fabian Weasley, Sex: M, Age: 17

II] Status: Pureblood

III] Purity: Tainted

IV] Group: A+

V] Lineage: Black, Prewett, Weasley

VI] Blood tainting traced to:

Augustus Weasley (pureblood) – Margery Wilson (muggle) (yr. 1889)

Abraham Weasley (halfblood) – Yvonne Taylor (muggle-born) (yr. 1908)

Septimus Weasley (3/4th pureblood) – Cedrella Black (pureblood) (yr. 1942)

Arthur Weasley (pureblood) – Molly Prewett (pureblood) (yr. 1970)

George Weasley (pureblood) (dob. 4/1/1978)

VII] Magical polarization of blood:

Wandless magic: 3.5%

Impulsive magic: 7.5%

Non-verbal magic: 15%

Wand-wielded verbal magic: 74%

VIII] Magical ailments (permanent or otherwise): none

IX] Foreign magic detected in blood: two

1) 2.8241 ml Dazing potion – source: Ernie McMillan.

2) 20.4523 ml Cramp-alleviating potion – source: Poppy Pomfrey.

X] Special cases: one.

Antik magick xxxx - ? imbued antibodies (traces).

...

Fred read the report once..twice..thrice...and exchanged baffled looks with George.

What perplexed him more than the name of the imposter or the blood-tainting (he knew they were blood traitors, so no surprises there) was the last statement which seemed all Greek to him. _Antik magick xxxx - ? imbued antibodies...?_

_What in the hell does this mean?_

"What does this mean?" he asked, looking at Madam Pomfrey with bewildered fright.

She looked at them both serenely as she said, "I just have a vague idea of what it might mean at the moment; there is a trace of some kind of old magic in your antibodies, Mr. Weasley, however what exactly it is, I haven't got much idea right now. It might, of course, also be possible that the spell might've shown a slight erroneous result by the time it reached the 10th prompt; you see, this is a basic analysis of blood, and is automated once the spell is cast. Every basic analysis has all the 10 prompts that's there in your report..Its been a while since I've last cast the spell for this..so maybe the spell's effect started to wane by the time it reached the 10th scrutiny...

"No need to be frightened, you two," she smiled kindly, looking at their bamboozled faces, "Even if its not erroneous, witches and wizards sometimes do show certain special cases, like, metamorphmaguses, or..those of very ancient ancestries...as in your case, Mr. Weasley...your roots is one of the most ancient among the wizarding families..so it might be possible that certain old magic might linger in your blood..and that too in very trace amounts..so, nothing to worry about...

"And of course, I thought this matter might seem more important to you than somebody's childish prank," she looked at them very deliberately, "since this concerns you in particular, right? And that prank by Mr. McMillan can be regarded as merely a silly, as I said that day, teenage wild antic..and _must be,"_ she looked at them very meaningfully now, "dealt with in a cultured manner..inform your Head, and she'll know what to do with him.." she nodded at them, then asked, "any questions?"

"Yes," they both said together. Fred inclined his head once to suggest his twin to ask his doubt first.

"What does this ex-es and question mark mean?" George asked, pointing at the x's after 'antik magick'.

"Hmm, it means the exact nature of your special case is unknown, or, to be more exact, beyond the capacity of the spell to detect.." she said, "Which is why I need another sample of your blood, Mr. Weasley, so that I could perform secondary-level confirmatory tests.."

"What exactly are antibodies?" Fred asked.

"Well, they are the components in blood which provides resistance against common ailments...much like antidotes for poisons.."

"And, if I have this condition, is it possible that Fred too has it? Or, my other siblings?" George asked curiously.

"I cannot be sure about your twin. There is a good chance that he might be sharing this condition with you, since you are twins. But as for your other siblings, well, no, I don't think so..because such cases aren't repetitive, since the genome for siblings, with the exception of twins, aren't similar..."

"Er..right..what's a genome?" Fred asked.

"It is the totality of heritable matter contained in haploid chromosomes,"

And that went straight over Fred's head.

"Right," Fred nodded as though he understood every word, knowing that asking more would mean turning this meeting into a class for healing studies.

"Would you like to find out if you have the condition, Mr. Weasley?" she asked Fred.

"Yeah," he said at once. Of course he wanted to know it.

"Very well, then. You both can give me your blood samples, then." She pulled out a drawer and started rummaging for something, "There is no need to take the headmaster's permission now, since he is already aware of your condition and that I'll need to perform another test.."

She took out two of the same tube-like transparent object with a sharp needle for siphoning blood with which she had taken George's blood that day, indicated George to stretch out his left arm, and jabbed the point into the crook of his arm right over a blue-green vein, filled the tube with his bright red blood, and the needle transformed into a cork immediately after that, with which she stoppered it, then performed some complicated wand movements over it. She repeated the procedure with Fred, and then they were let off.

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	35. Chapter 35

"Where were you two..?" Lee asked as they walked in to their dorm that evening. He was squinting at the long mirror in the corner with his mouth open in concentration as he tried changing the colour of his eyebrow from black to blue; he was practising human transfiguration.

"Off checking out some nice chicks.." Fred said in a flat tone as he slipped his school robes off his shoulders and threw it across his bed and started pulling his tie.

"What's that in your hand?" he asked, eyeing the report clutched in George's hand through the mirror.

"A love note from Alicia.." George said, stowing the parchment in his trunk.

"Really.." Lee looked around at him, "I thought she's dating Davies.."

"I kicked his sex hard and he's no longer a he..so she's dating me.." he invented.

Lee suddenly turned and gave him a knowing look, "I thought you told her to stop fancying you cause you weren't the one who kissed her.."

Fred gave him a sharp look, "How the bloody hell did you find that out?"

"Angelina's my girlfriend.." Lee smiled, "She prattles about her friends all the time.."

"Oh yeah.." Fred and George said resignedly as they looked at each other and sighed.

"So.." Fred perched on his bed and kicked away his shoes, then gave Lee a clear look, "Since when have you known this..?"

"Since our third trip to Hogsmeade..a few days before your second task.."

"And you thought to keep mum about it?" Fred quirked a brow.

Lee's brows shot up, "I should be the one asking you that question.."

_Argh I freaking nearly jumped from the highest tower..then kicked my love in the stomach. Hard. Then got fucked by him for the first time. Hard. Then fucked him for the first time. Very hard. Then his stomach hurt like he was having contractions and I rushed him to the hospital wing carrying him like a baby while everyone where drooling in their sleep...Then Moody came and said my mentality's filthy...Then I had to solve a ruddy egg-clue...Then I had to figure out how to breathe underwater..spent sleepless nights.. solved it a night before the task..had to save my love..._

"Our..mental state- I mean, George's mental state had been a bit disturbed after that incident. He was a bit embarrassed about the whole episode, you know.." Fred said finally.

George nodded in assent.

Lee's expression softened as he said understandingly, "I suspected exactly that, gits..so I thought not to bring up the matter until you'd want to discuss about it.." he flopped down onto his bed, one eyebrow a brilliant blue and the other quite normal.

"And you demonstrated your intelligence by doing just that.." Fred said a bit sarcastically.

"It was rubbish.." George said gloomily, "Someone spiked my drink with dazing potion while I was looking the other way..made me walk toward the dungeons and into an empty dungeon..I conked off as the dazing effect dwindled and the knocking-out effect of the potion kicked in..while the git, presumably, pulled out my hair..and polyjuiced himself into me.."

"And the parchment you saw in George's hand was the report for a blood analysis we requested with Madam Pomfrey to perform on George.." Fred said, "And guess who's the fraud.."

"Malfoy..?" Lee ventured immediately.

"This whole thing would have seemed less madder if it was him.." George said.

"It's that pompous fool in Hufflepuff..the one in Ron's year...Ernie MacMillan.." Fred said, anger boiling inside him as he thought of him. _Never thought _he'd _be the one..what a fucking idiot to have tried masquerading as one of us..._

_"_Fucking bastard should've thought twice before fooling us of all people...if he's got even a bit of nous he should've known that he'd get caught and get done in by us.." Fred said spitefully.

Lee sat with wide eyes, disbelief etched on his face, "Ernie MacMillan? But..he's so naive and..and, well..stupid and..stupidly pompous, and.._gay!_" he yelled the last word.

"Gay..?" they both said together.

"Got to be, hasn't he? If he isn't sparing even a single glance at girls..?" Lee said.

George looked slightly awkward.

"Well, he proved his sexuality quite spectacularly, didn't he?" Fred snapped, a bit angry at Lee's gay-observation.

Lee let out a slow whistle, "Well, this brings to mind a good old saying, 'never judge a book by its cover'..." he chuckled lightly, "Man..MacMillan..I guess he'll be dead by, what..tomorrow, perhaps?" he looked at them meaningfully.

"He wont die that soon.." Fred had a malicious edge to his voice, "He'll die inch by inch..I'll make sure of that.."

"Fred.." George began.

"You better keep your opinions to yourself in this matter, George.." Fred gave him a look of awful finality. Looking into his innocent blue eyes, he telepathically understood what he was thinking... _but Madam Pomfrey said that we must turn him in to McGonagall..._

His love can be really really naive at times.

"I'm not going to report the matter to McGonagall that soon.." Fred said, "I'll first hex his brains out..careful not to reveal that we're the one's behind it..and then inform about his escapade to McGonagall..double the trouble for him, and more the satisfaction for me.."

And George always stands by his decisions in the end, doesn't he?

* * *

They tiptoed to their secret room at midnight after making sure it was quiet everywhere, and had to dodge Peeves on the way, who managed to spot them even under their disillusionment charm.

"Invisible heads flitting through the air. Peevsie knows that long long hair!" he cackled and came hovering toward them, clutching a cardboard box.

"Crazy cooties off for pranky pranks! Peevsie knows these two are cranks!".

He hovered above them, then tipped the box directly over them, and a large number of ink-pots came crashing down on them.

Fred and George acted at the same moment; they whipped out their wands and cast banishing charm at the ink-pots so that they were flung right back toward Peeves.

"Cranky cranks are wittily witty! Peevsie adores them itty bitty!" he cackled as he got showered with ink pots over his head.

They encountered no one else after that thankfully.

"So I have some kind of old magic in my antibodies.."

George was lying flat on his back on their huge bed, staring at the ceiling adorned with delicate floral patterns. A muted red-orange glow was cast from a beautiful bedside light on the nightstand, so that the white rose in the vase seemed as red as the deep red one.

"Not just 'some kind', Georgie.." Fred lay close to his twin, propped on his elbow, looking at his beautiful face lit by the eerie red glow, "its 'antic magic'" Fred chuckled, "and I guess it makes sense for us to have 'antic magic' in us..considering what we do in the night time.." he leaned closer and playfully nipped his bottom lip.

"But she wasn't sure that you too might be having it.." George said, his gaze now fixing on him.

"Hm..it'll be your exceptionality in that case.." Fred eased himself down, resting his head on the pillow close to his twin's, "But I'm a bit worried about this whole 'antic' thingie in your antibodies, baby...even though Madam Pomfrey said not to worry...I mean, what in the hell is all this? Who ever knew such things might crop up one day...D'you think we should tell mum and dad about this?"

George turned around to face him and tucked his arms under his, looking at him broodingly, "I guess we should wait for the next report to come before we inform anyone about this, Freddie.." a slightly troubled expression crossed his features, "I dunno..I..feel that if, um, what if this is 'cause of our incestuo-"

"Are you mental? What has that got anything to do with what's in your blood..? This antic-ness might've been there in you since the day you were conceived.." he slipped his fingers in his hair and gently massaged his head with his fingertips, and smiled when George closed his eyes slowly and let out a contented soft sigh.

"Hm..and.." George puckered his brows slightly, a mildly confused, irritated expression crossing his face, "Why the blazing hell d'you think Ernie MacMillan of all people played such a moronic prank on me..?"

Fred's jaws clenched as he said, "Well..whatever the reason might've been, he's going to pay for it real bad.." and he was picturing various forms of cruel torture for him, "Never expected a bloody sissy Hufflepuff to have done that to us, though..but considering that there are dipshits like Zacharias Smith in Hufflepuff, this shouldn't come as a shocker.."

"But we'll have to be careful not to cause him bodily harm..I don't want castigation from McGonagall for giving hell to the bastard who was the reason why you n-nearly.." and George never completes his sentence whenever he says that. He simply burrowed his head into Fred's neck and hugged him like a small child, and Fred had to smile when his love lifted a leg and wrapped it tightly over his waist in an effort to stick as close to him as conceivably possible.

"You beautiful, mental creature.." Fred chuckled and kissed his silky hair, "Did you take Madam Pomfrey's words seriously?" Fred rocked slightly with his twin, rubbing his back, "I want to hex him so bad that he'll remember it until the day he dies and croak it to his grandchildren while his loose teeth would swing as he'd speak about how I was the one behind it.."

"Hm, that's a good idea.." George chuckled against his neck, and gripped his shoulders more firmly.

They lay twined on the huge fluffy mattress in a comfortable silence. Fred rocked their bodies slightly, his heart overflowing with love for George, enjoying the warm breath on his neck and the limp weight of his love's leg on his waist, then said, "Well..no worries about the last task for another three months now..."

"Hm, yeah..it's on the 24th of June, right.." George said, "Wonder what the last task would be like...maybe they'll endanger our whole family next..."

"Or maybe they'll endanger me..like they did in the first task..maybe, increase the intensity of the danger.." Fred mused quietly.

George suddenly pounced up from their tight embrace and sealed his mouth with a searing kiss. It was so sudden that Fred inhaled deeply through his nose, then instantly started kissing him back with the same ferocity.

The rest of the conversation was in muffled grunts and moans, nails clawing backs and shoulders, and gasps when the kiss broke, then needy whispers as they feasted on each others' necks.

Fred, utterly aroused beyond his right mind, didn't know when or how they got nude, or how he ended up pushing his twin roughly into the mattress by his shoulders as he sat on him grinding his hips hard against his, making their cocks squeeze needily against each other.

"B-baby..hn..taste m-my..fingers.." he murmured as he slipped in three long digits into George's warm mouth, and he sucked them with his eyes closed in pleasure.

He uttered the most vulgar expletives as he grabbed George's thighs, spread them wide, hastily thrust in his spit-smeared fingers into his hot, tight hole, loosened it up, then entered in so violently that George shuddered and howled in pain beneath him.

"Yeah..cry out! Cry out, baby..." he threw his head back and groaned nonsensically as he pummelled into him rapidly, his moans driving him crazy.

He thrust in and out with all his might, his intense love for George travelling to his taut muscles and his pumping heart; and the result was that he was expressing his undying love with strong, fierce thrusts and passionate screams.

Then his screams turned into whimpers as he came dangerously close to slipping into nirvana and forgot how to articulate, and threw his head down to stare into George's blue irises with dilated black pupils.

"S-sweet..ngh...l-love y-you're aaah b-beautiful.." Fred whispered into his lips.

"I..hn..l-love..y-you..so aahh .." George whimpered.

George shuddered uncontrollably and spilled all over with a low moan.

"T-take it...t-take it all, baby...aah.." Fred released his load deep inside his twin, moaning as though in pain.

He collapsed down on George, still convulsing in the after-effects, his heart thundering somewhere near his mouth and his head reeling while he panted as though he ran up a tall mountain without break.

"Hn..Freddie..you don't make love..you..rape.." George mumbled in a tired, yet playful voice after a few long minutes.

Fred raised himself up a bit by his elbows and gazed at George's face. He was smiling softly.

"I'm so sorry..did I hurt you again..?" he asked, brushing away strands of damp hair sticking to his lips and forehead.

"Git..you ask that every time after you rape me..and like I say every time, I love Fred-the-rapist.." he chuckled, "I'm okay, love..."

"God, I'm horrible..forgive me.." he murmured as he slid off his love and lay next to him, and George chuckled at his words, snuggling closer.

"I don't think any god will forgive us, Freddie..considering what we do.."

"Then I don't give a damn what the gods think..." he said, smiling at his love.

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	36. Chapter 36

**Small correction in the last chapter:**

**Hey guys I realized that I wanted to write about the twin's birthday celebration but messed up by writing in the previous chapter that there's simply a month to go before the last task (The last task's on 24****th**** of June, you see). So I've changed it to 'almost three months'. :)**

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Fred, George and Lee were huddled together at a desk in their dorm room, with a fat book open in the middle, engrossed in reading.

And that is never a good sign.

Splendid hexes or ingenious pranks are sure to follow shortly after that.

"Got it.." Fred muttered with a hint of triumph in his low voice, "Stinging hex combined with ton tongue toffee will make his lips swell to the size of Hagrid's relatives.."

"And he'll be mute for at least two months.." Lee muttered, reading the lines under the title 'stinging hex', "If the hex is aimed at his mouth,"

"Ah, perfect hitback prank...make his lips so huge that he could kiss twenty girls at a time..." George said, smirking.

"So.." Fred's voice taking that usual business-like tone whenever he outlines the steps to take while executing a prank, "What we've got to do is hex the ton tongue toffee, which'll alter the engorgement charm in it, which affects the tongue, and make it affect the lips instead. But this effect will wane after 24 hours..so we'll have to make MacMillan eat it within the time-limit.."

Lee and George nodded determinedly.

"I'm all support, mate.." Lee said.

"So now we've got to find out a way to force the toffee somehow into his mouth.." George said.

"Without revealing our identities.." Fred said.

"How are we going to do that?" Lee asked.

"We'll find out a way.." Fred said. He had an idea in his head about that, and was planning to find out tonight in their secret room if it would work or not.

...

_I want you to turn into our bedroom..with vials of polyjuice potion on the nightstand..._ Fred thought with all his might as he paced back and forth in front of the blank stretch of wall on the seventh floor that night after half past midnight.

The familiar highly polished door appeared, and George gripped the brass handle and pushed open the door.

"Yeah..." they both drawled triumphantly as they saw vials of polyjuice potion sitting on the nightstand beside their bed.

"I knew it..I knew this room can actually give us anything we want, Georgie.."

They had unwittingly wished for a bathroom once, and a door had appeared swiftly in the room, which opened into a stunning, sparkling red-and-white themed bathroom which surpassed the grandeur of even the prefect's bathroom. And once, George had simply said he wished to have a coffee in the middle of the night, and a piping hot cup had promptly appeared on the nightstand.

About a dozen vials filled with mud-like liquid sat on the nightstand, and Fred happily pocketed a few of them.

"And now we need three girls' school robes..." Fred said, thought for it hard, and they appeared, folded neatly, hung on his right arm.

"Crikey..if this room could give us polyjuice potion and girls' robes..then.." Fred began with a sly grin.

George's eyes widened with almost a childlike enthusiasm.

"I know what you're saying! Wait..let me think...hmm.." George closed his eyes and puckered his lips in concentration, and Fred smiled when he saw vials filled with silver-coloured Hiccupping potion appearing on the nightstand.

"Well done, baby.." Fred grinned, "you've earned ten kisses.." and he leaned closer and actually gave him ten pecks on his lips, putting down his fingers and counting off his kisses.

George let out a playful growl and pounced on him, knocking him down onto their bed, "And you've earned one nice humping!" George laughed as he sat on him swiftly unbuttoning his shirt.

"I want an ice-cube.." George said, his face screwed up in concentration, and one promptly appeared on his palm.

Fred was grinning broadly in anticipation, "Looks like you're in your 'mood'.."

"I want a blind-fold.." George said.

Fred could hear his heart singing with joy as a blindfold appeared in his love's hand.

"Looks like I'm about to have the time of my lif-.."

"Tonight, you'll feel rather see the thirst in my eyes while I make love to you, baby..." George whispered while blind-folding him.

And Fred did have the most wonderful time of his life after that.

* * *

"Man..when did you nick these potions and girls' robes?" Lee asked with awe the next morning as they set out for the breakfast. He had admiration mixed with confusion as they showed him the vials of polyjuice and hiccupping potions that morning in their dorm.

"That's a Weasley secret.." Fred winked, "We're as good tricksters as pranksters if you haven't forgotten.."

"Your cousin Mike has a good experience of it.." George smiled.

They had tricked Mike two years ago at King's Cross by selling him a vial of phlegm-reducing potion while insisting that it was antidote for tarantula poison, and had been tricking him ever since with their joke-stuffs.

_Ah, karma.._Fred thought as Bagman's rotund form flitted across his mind once.

Fred shook his vague thoughts and said, "So here's the plan; we'll polyjuice into some girls..preferably pint-sized third year girls, cause the robes are of roughly that size..give him the toffees with a sexy smile, while making sure that he is with someone, so that when Madam Pomfrey accuses us of the doing..the one who was with him can bear witness that it was some girls and not us..since MacMillan won't be in a condition to speak.."

Lee eyed Fred with renewed respect, "You are a genius, bozo.."

That evening, while walking through the entrance hall toward their common room, they casually walked close by a group of third year girls, acting as though they were deep in some conversation and had no idea where they were heading, banged into a few girls, plucked the first strand of hair they could get hold of in the hullabaloo that ensued, arranged their expression to that of sheepishly apologetic after they disentangled themselves from them and straightened, and muttered their apologies (but the girls didn't really mind being banged into, in fact they looked thrilled).

Once in their dorm, they started working on the ton tongue toffees. They hexed them with stinging-hex and wrapped them in brightly coloured coverings.

"Get ready to get fucked, MacMillan.." Lee yelled his cliché-line.

"Extra-large lips for extra-pleasurable kissing.." George grinned.

"And troll-like grunting to express his pleasure for another two months.." Fred added.

Next day was the big day...

MacMillan was going to pay really, really terribly for messing with them...

Messing with Fred to be more precise...

That morning, they made their way to the boys' bathroom, the girls' robes magically reduced to tiny sizes and tucked away in their robes, and after making sure it was empty, they bustled in, locked the door from inside, and Fred took out three vials of the mud-like polyjuice potion from his robes.

"Alright, then.." he breathed, "Give me the hair.."

It was the first time they were polyjuicing into girls. They had polyjuiced into three seventh year boys in their second year to trick their way into Hogsmeade, and had been successful, with a little help from Marauders Map through which they found the secret stairs behind the one-eyed witch which led the way to Hogsmeade.

Lee carefully took out strands of strawberry blonde, black and chestnut-brown hair from a little pencil box, and handed it to Fred, who took them, and dropped each into the three vials.

The potion immediately began to froth and hiss, then cleared down to light pink, lavender, and red-geranium shades.

Fred handed the light pink to George, lavender to Lee, and was left with the geranium-shade for himself.

"C'mon, then.." Fred said, grinning, and tipped the contents into his mouth, and Lee and George followed suit.

It tasted off-putting, and then he immediately felt the transformation taking place.

He was shrinking in height and size, his face was stretching and shrinking at various places, his hair grew longer, less silkier but more thicker, the red slowly darkened into chestnut-brown, his chest felt funny as he grew small, rounded breasts, and then he felt his waist becoming thinner and curvier.

He looked at the other two, and saw that they were the exact replicas of the girls they collided with yesterday.

"Who's George..?" Fred's voice came out as high-pitched and girly, and then giggled at his own voice. _Wait..I did not mean to giggle! _But his usual baritone laughter sounded like girly titters.

"Me!" squeaked the strawberry blonde girl, whose hair fell in light waves up to her shoulders. She had a small, pert nose, thin lips, pewter-grey eyes, rather weak chin and small, but curvy frame. She was giggling uncontrollably, and Fred thought that the girl looked beautiful since she her mannerisms were exactly like George.

And the curly black-haired, olive-skinned, heart-shape faced, dreadfully thin girl with little or no curves was clutching her sides and laughing with a tinkling sound, "You look sexy, Fred.." she laughed, then gave a flirtatious wink.

"And you look like a skank, git.." Fred said, but had a light-hearted grin on his face.

"Alright, we have one hour with us to corner MacMillan and give him our 'heavy treat".." Fred said (God, it felt extremely odd to speak with that girly tone), pulled out the shrunk girl's-robes from his pocket, and expanded it back to its normal size.

He felt no shame while stripping to his boxers in front of Lee since he was displaying the brown haired girl's assets quite flamboyantly, not his. (Lee and George too seemed at ease to display their bodies shamelessly; Lee, Fred was shocked, actually had the courtesy to not ogle at the girls' bodies, and was changing into his girl's robes hastily).

"Okay, then.." Fred piped girlishly, "Lets go.."

And they exited the bathroom excitedly, giggling with thrill.

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	37. Chapter 37

**Now, this chapter describes Ernie getting hexed. If you think that Fred and George are too light-hearted and easy-going to give someone hell, you're wrong..becasue in OoTP, they do exactly that, and they even force a Slytherin boy into a vanishing cabinet if you remember! Fred and George rock! :D**

* * *

They waited near the stairs leading down to the basement, which led to both the kitchen as well as the Hufflepuff common room.

Hufflepuff students were lumbering up the stairs for the breakfast. They scanned the horde of students for a blond, stupidly-portentous looking boy who was on the brink of receiving some spectacular hexes from three seemingly innocent third year girls.

Then they saw Ernie MacMillan flouncing in with a goofy-looking, shaggy brown haired guy, talking at the top of his voice with him.

When they came near enough, Fred, George and Lee accosted them.

"Ooh! Er..MacMillan?" Fred adopted the most vivacious, tacky, stupid look he could put on, grinning tawdrily at MacMillan.

MacMillan raised his brows a bit, looking ostentatiously surprised, "Do I know you?" he asked, eyes roving over their faces in succession. The goofy guy looked on goofily.

"Erm..no.." George said sweetly, batting the blonde girl's eyelids up at MacMillan, "But..we know quite a lot about you.."

"Er..we actually wanted to talk to you about a certain matter..can we, um, move somewhere out-of-the-way..? If you don't mind..." Lee asked, grinning.

MacMillan creased his brows a bit in slight uncertainty as he jerked his head once and said, "Er, fine.. See you in a bit, Gary.." he told the shaggy-haired guy.

"No no! Um, he can accompany..its fine.." Fred said, now bestowing his tacky smile on Gary, who grinned back at Fred hesitantly.

They made their way down the stairs, against the upward current of the Hufflepuff students making their way up toward the Great Hall, rounded a dark corner, moved along a passageway with tapestries, turned right, and pushed open a crumbling wooden door, which creaked open into an empty, cellar-like room with a cool, dank air.

"So..er..we wanted to discuss something really important.." Fred piped cheerily, smiling pleasantly at Ernie.

"You are the captain of the gobstone's team, aren't you?" Lee asked admiringly.

_Hmm..nice tactic..._Fred thought, his brain working at top speed, rustling up what to say after Ernie gives his reply.

"Yes," Ernie nodded once, narrowing his eyes as though appraising them.

"Well..we've heard how nicely you handle your captaincy, you know..and we were wondering if.." Fred was cooking up wildly, all the while a fake, cheap smile plastered on his face.

"If we could enter the team.." the blonde girl looked at him with puppy-dog eyes, and suddenly, in that inapt moment, Fred was cruelly reminded of something by that look on the girl's face..

The scene playing before his mind's eye in a dreamy slow-motion...

The look on George's face when he pleaded with their mum to not burn the order forms for their joke stuff last summer. It was the only time he felt incalculable resentment toward their mum for making George cry and belittling their ambitions..the only time he roared in wild rage at his mother...

They had lied twined in a tight embrace on their bed that night, moonlight swathing them compassionately as Fred stroked George's red hair, whispered encouraging words, told him not to cry..

And Fred, standing there about to hex an arsehole who messed with him and his twin, felt a powerful something rise in him...

Something, which simmered slowly in him until then, now started burning with a renewed vigour, the flames leaping up powerfully...

They would prove their mum and Percy wrong one day...

He was broken from his reverie when he saw the blonde girl reaching out and lightly touching Ernie's arm, a beseeching look, George's beseeching look, upon her pewter-grey eyes.

And Ernie MacMillan melted right then and there as he saw the pleading, wide-eyed, cute expression on the blonde girl's face. His high and mighty features softened to that of gentleness as he flushed and fumbled and tripped over his tongue, "Oh..um..of course you can..er..you can enter your games to nomestone..er..I mean..names to gobstone list of ..er.."

"Ooooh! Thank you so much!" George gushed, "I can't believe my luck! Oh thank you!" George beamed at him, then fumbled in his girl's robes for the toffees, "I..er.." he looked at MacMillan sheepishly, "Er..here are a few toffees as my expression of gratitude.." he looked at him, smiling cutely, as he extended his arm and held out his thin, dainty hand clutching the brightly wrapped toffees.

MacMillan looked uncertain as he reached a hand and took them from George, and muttered, "Er..thanks.."

The guy named Gary had a particularly goofy grin when Fred moved closer to Ernie and said, "Now why don't you eat that, cutie pie?" and gave him an enticing wink.

Ernie, looking perplexed and amused, said, "Er.."

"C'mon," Fred nodded encouragingly, "Or we'd be really let down..." he pouted in the sexiest way he could act out.

Ernie blinked his eyes, an amused smile on his face as he looked at Fred cheaply, deeming him as a trashy slut.

"Er, fine, then.." Ernie said, amused smile still on his face as he started unwrapping the toffee.

_Ha! Gotcha fooled you stupid, womanizing, moronic, shitty, skank-loving-_

Ernie put the toffee into his mouth...

Chewed only once..

And...

His lips had erupted to the size of baby elephants within the blink of an eye, looking like large, red-coloured, flabby, rafflesia petals, drooping down to his knees.

It – looked – grossly – disgusting!

"AAAAAAA!" his friend Gary yelled, aghast.

Fred, George and Lee looked disgusted and appalled only for a few seconds before they burst into fits of laughter, tittering and screaming shrilly with raucous laughter.

"Look at him! Oh God!" Fred wheezed in between bouts of laughter, not even able to speak.

They could see Ernie's horror-struck eyes peering down at his own lips hanging like huge fleshy bags down to his knees, unable to make even a single sound, and then he turned around to look frantically at Gary, who let out a horrified, disgusted noise which sounded something like 'Aaaa! Uhwewurrgh!" as he did a strange juddering jig, his lower lip stretched and jutting out and his head pulled back as though trying to distance himself from Ernie...and then he turned and broke into a sprint, fleeing the cellar-like room.

"Oooh! You look so handsome, Ernie!" Lee cooed.

"Mmm look at his luscious red lips..so juicy.." Fred cruelly mocked in a sweet girly voice, smirking maliciously.

"I feel like hexing his hands too, Fr- Friend Fanny..." George corrected at the last moment, an identical smirk on his face, "The hands with which he accomplishes his _extraordinary_ extra-curricular activities..apart from being a 'nomestone' captain.." George took out his wand slowly.

"Alright then, sweet blondie babe.." Fred said, taking out his wand from his girl's-robes, "And skanky babe," he turned to Lee, "take out your wand too..we're gonna aim a splend- _Expelliarmus_!" he yelled as MacMillan took out his wand hastily, who was horrified when he was disarmed splendidly by Fred and his wand flew away from his hand and fell a twenty feet away from him.

"Tut tut tut.." Fred chided, "Baddie Ernie...yeah, so I was saying, we're gonna aim a thick skin-hex which'll give his unworthy hands sea urchin-like spines..ready?" he asked George and Lee.

"Hell yeah," Lee said, looking thrilled, and George nodded enthusiastically.

"Alright, its gonna be a combo, babes..stretch out your arms and point your wands straight at his ham-like fists..now, follow my instructions," Fred said coolly as he pointed his wand at a scared stiff Ernie's clenched right fist, "Fire the hex at his right fist when I say now," he looked at the blonde girl and olive-skinned girl standing ready with their wands, then back at Ernie's fist, who started running in panic, "Now!"

Three neon blue jets of light followed him as he ran helplessly and jointly hit his right hand, which immediately turned into a spiky ball.

Fred gave a lazy flick of his wand and cast a trip jinx, and Ernie fell down on the floor in a heap as he reached a few feet away from the door.

"You can't escape now, big baddie boy.." Fred whispered dangerously, "His left hand on the count of three, one..two..three!"

And his left hand met the same fate.

Fred and George smirked triumphantly, while Lee laughed his head off.

"Now, those hexes were first-rate, and being combos, even Madam Pomfrey's treatments wont diminish their effects much...Enjoy your gorgeousness, arsehole.." Fred said nastily, threw Ernie, who now resembled a bizarre alien creature, one last glare before stepping over his sprawled form and walking out of the room with Lee and George.

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**Like I say everytime...please review! :D**


	38. Chapter 38

**I wanna make a confession here:**

**The best FredxGeorge love story I've ever read, or..I'd even say, the best love story I've ever read, is 'Like Dolphins can Swim' by Funeral Lillies**

**Dunno why, but I just felt like telling about it to you guys... please read it whenever you have time.. That story deserves a million reviews!.. :D**

**Warning: Total and utter and severe fluff and lemon!**

* * *

They had to while away their time in the out of order first floor girls' bathroom inhabited by Moaning Myrtle until they changed back to their own bodies ("Stop moaning and get stuffed, stupid specky whiny baby," Lee groaned as she kept pestering them with questions, and she zoomed away, blubbering), expanded their shrunk robes, put them on, and, having missed the breakfast and first class (History of Magic), hurried off to their second class.

That evening, they informed McGonagall of MacMillan's Yule Ball escapade, and she seemed to be extremely scandalized by his conduct, "I will inform Prof. Sprout immediately, Weasley," she looked at them kindly, then her expression hardened as she thought of Macmillan, "That kind of behaviour is certainly not tolerated at all in Hogwarts! He will be given appropriate punishment, and his parents will be informed of this! We can have a meeting of your parents with his so that the seriousness of his rudeness is conveyed to his parents."

_Fuck._

"Er.." George said, looking at Fred with a tinge of fear in his pale blue eyes, "Do we want parents to get involved in this?"

If their parents are dragged into this, there stood a minute chance of Fred's suicide attempt getting revealed to their parents, in the slim possibility of Moody revealing what he saw if his attention was drawn by all the hubbub that will ensue if their parents will come marching in to Hogwarts.

"Yeah, Professor..it's okay if you don't inform his parents. We just want him to be handed an appropriate punishment.." Fred said.

Prof. McGonagall's usual stern features were softened as she considered, "As you wish, then,'" she said shortly, "It is only because the victim himself is kind enough to prefer so that I'm not informing his parents and making matters more severe for him. I will make sure that he is dealt with most appropriately."

The next day, Saturday, they went to Hogsmeade with Lee and Angelina, chattering away about a lot of relevant and irrelevant matters, joking and laughing, as they ambled aimlessly through the alleyways, occasionally passing cottages with brightly blooming flowers swaying gently in the neat gardens and spilling over the fences.

Lee was constantly pestering Angelina about choosing a career which would be 'healthy' for their relationship and won't keep them away for too long (he wanted to work _with_ Angelina if truth be told), and she constantly told him that one must select their career according to their tastes (while giving a threatening glare) and said that she'd be _really angry_ if he'd compromise his wishes just to be with her..or expected it of her..

"Now, Lee.." Fred explained with a dead serious look on his face, "Its like this..she likes to silently soar in the air on her broom and aim quaffles into hoops and you like commentating, which can easily be understood by your tendency to gawk and babble.."

"So," George picked from where he left, "Imagine you choosing a career as a chaser just to be with her: You're flying with the chasers in the middle of a match," George cleared his voice and imitated Lee's deep voice, "_Angie! Look at that big boy coming your way! Get out of the- _wham!"

"You just got hit by a bludger, right on your head.." Fred said instantly.

"And no, dreadlocks wont absorb the shock much when bludgers are hit by beaters like us.." George said, "Or, picture this: _Angie, you look like a goddess while you fly and shake those braided black hair from your eyes and- _wham!"

"You just got hit by a bludger, right on your crotch.." Fred said.

(Angelina was giggling hysterically, Lee looked daggers at them for mocking him in front of Angelina)

"Yeah..so you can see she's got a point, Lee..She just wishes for your well-being, you dungbrains.." George said, throwing a sweet smile at Angelina, who nodded enthusiastically and launched into a fresh harangue at Lee, "See..you should've understood what he understood..but you are too..."

And Fred and George blocked her out as they started a soft conversation between themselves.

As they passed a particularly dingy little shop, packed with 'ooh'ing and 'aah'ing young witches, Fred observed the shop, wondering what the hubbub was all about, while George, Lee and Angelina were deep in some conversation.

And found that it was a jewellery shop, selling trinkets and all such charms..

And he got hit by a sudden idea as he saw a silvery, glinting ring displayed behind the glass, and made a mental note to visit the shop soon.

While they were seated in the Three Broomsticks, Fred excused himself from Lee, Angelina and George..

Yes..George..

Because he wanted to visit that shop...

It was really important that he should..

George goggled at Fred, eyes widened in shock, "But, why..I'll accompany you..I want to.." he whispered close to Fred's ear.

"I'll be back in a jiffy, you mental creature..dont worry.." Fred said as he got up from the seat.

"But.."

"I'll be back soon, guys.." he told the three of them, "Wait for me right here.." and he hurried out of the pub, leaving behind a perplexed George with a cozied up Lee and Angelina.

The next few days were spent evading answering George's relentless (and worried and angry) questioning on where had he went off that day and why,

And, bracing themselves for a call from Madam Pomfrey or McGonagall, to grill them on MacMillan's horrible condition, but mercifully, no such call came.

"Maybe she might've decided that MacMillan deserved what he got, and let us off for our little settling of scores..." Fred mused as he absently trailed a finger along the shell of George's ear that night, minutes to go before it would be midnight, before it would be his favourite day of the year.

George's birthday.

"And besides, it was nothing compared to what he did to us, Freddie.." George said, clinging on to him as usual, "His prank n-nearly.."

"Argh..my sweet.." Fred growled as he squeezed him, then pulled back to give a hard, noisy kiss on his soft cheek, "Get a grip, you mental creature..stop your.." and Fred leaned closer and deliberately breathed hard and fast against George's lips, eliciting a soft purr from him, "Stammering.." he breathed, then drew away to see his beautiful identical lover's breath quickened and his eyes closed, "I'm right here now by your side, aren't I? Stuck as close to you as possible, with your long leg over my waist and your beautiful arms tucked under mine.." Fred murmured so tenderly that he was finally rewarded with the most beautiful loving smile, "D'you even know how lovely you are, darling.." he planted slow and tender kisses along his long, auburn lashes delicately adorning his closed eyes.

"God, I love you so much, Freddie.." George whispered, his voice brimming with pure love as he kissed him, lips sliding, smooth and slow, against his with want and love.

Can he ever fully express the infinite amount of love he had for George?

No number of kisses will ever be enough to convey the burning, pulsing, mad passion he had for the wonderful person who lay in his arms right now, kissing him tenderly.

No number of years will burn out the unending obsession, the indescribable love he had for him.

He needed at least an infinite number of years with George to explain just the vague gist of his love to him.

He needed endless nights to make love with him and express his love with his rapid heartbeats, his quick breaths, his loving whispers..

"But I'll love you more if you'd say where you went that day without me.." George attacked him with his question when he least expected it.

Fred drew back to find that he looked slightly hurt and worried, and had that cute puppy-dog, pleading look in his eyes, trying to coax out the answer from Fred.

"I told you I just went to piss.." Fred chuckled.

"There's mens bathroom in that pub, you moron.." George frowned, "and I'm not a moron so stop trying to hide any damn thing from me..."

"Aw Georgie, my sweet, cute darling.." he gave him a loving kiss on his lips, "You'll understand it later,"

"Promise?" he asked keenly like a cute little child.

"My beautiful angel.." Fred whispered against his lips, "Promise..." he smiled, "It'll be your birthday in a few minutes, darling.." he reached out and grabbed his watch, "'Kay, lets await the remarkable moment when the clock strikes midnight and you'll turn..seventeen years, seven months and three days..It'll be like that from this day forth..you know why.."

They both knew why..they had taken the permanent ageing potion and had aged themselves to seventeen years of age seven months ago.

George chuckled softly. He seemed a bit calmed now, after Fred's loving words and kisses, and murmured, "Oh you cookie..its our birthday, not just mine.."

Fred snorted mirthfully, "Cookie?" he grinned.

"Mhm, yeah..my chocolate cookie..." George smiled and playfully bit the tip of his nose hard.

"Why, Georgie..that's by far the sweetest thing I've heard from you..and if you'd be any sweeter you'd literally turn into sugar.." Fred gave a fond kiss on his love's chin, "lets stare at the time, 'kay..I wanna wish you the moment it'll be 1st April.."

They had been doing this ever since they learned when they were seven that the next day begins right after midnight, and not when the sun rises as they had believed until then.

"Hmn, baby..I'm the one who wishes you first, don't forget that little rule of ours and jump on me wishing and kissing cause we're in a relationship this time.." George said softly as they straightened a bit and sat leaning against the headboard, George's head resting peacefully on Fred's shoulder as his one arm was wrapped around his love's waist holding him close and the other held the watch between them. His watch showed the time as 11.59 pm now...

Seconds left..

..

12.00 pm..

"Happy birthday, Freddie.." George whispered fondly as he gazed up at Fred and leaned in for a small peck on the lips, identical smiles forming on their softly grazing lips.

"Happy birthday to you too, Georgie..." and Fred sealed their mouths, holding George close to his fondly beating heart. He kissed him slowly and gently this time..his heart bursting with absolute love for his soul mate..a love which went beyond physical needs, a love which sprung right from the core of his soul for him, and he was damn sure there couldn't be a love any purer and truer than what they were feeling for each other right now.

"Alright, let's cut a cake now, shall we..?" Fred grinned as he thought for a chocolate butter cake, George's favourite, which appeared on the coffee table right in front of their bed (since they were too comfortable sitting there cuddled up on their bed and too lazy to get up).

"Hmm, this looks plain.." George said, observing the dark-brown, creamy cake, scrunched his eyes shut and puckered his lips slightly in concentration (Fred always cracked a smile at that cute expression of his), and then observed the changes his love made to their cake.

And smiled.

Seventeen thin, small, white, lit candles were standing in a circle on the outer edge, seven smaller red candles arranged in the same manner inside it, and three smallest red-and-white striped candles stood at the centre.

"Hm, that's creative of you.." Fred said, smiling lovingly at George.

"Any other day, I would've insulted you by saying that I know I'm smarter than you, but not today.." George grinned.

"Baby, that's not even an insult..that's a fact.." Fred leaned closer and kissed his cheek lightly, "Besides, you're too sweet to know how to insult anyone, darling.."

"Now stop insulting me by saying that, git..I don't know to insult anyone.. Really.." George huffed playfully.

"Mh, yeah..that's right..you don't know to hurt even an ant, _cookie_.." Fred chuckled and stole another peck.

"No..dont call me that. That's my innovative nickname for _you_..why don't you try to be original?"

"Um..alright, then..I could think of just one nickname for you in that case.." Fred leaned closer and breathed in his sweet breath, "Vanilla sugar.."

"Mhn, but that's still copying..you're mentioning a sweet edible thing.." George murmured against his lips, smiling playfully.

"Its not my fault that you are exactly that.." Fred replied, "And why am I called a cookie?"

"You're bittersweet..enticingly dark..."George whispered and kissed him slowly, clutching his neck with his beautiful, pale hands.

Fred moaned and tilted his head down, his lips grazing George's soft neck, "God..you're so damn..lovely, so lovable..so sweet..I love you..." he breathed against his neck, hugging him close.

"Ah..s-stop y-your sweet talk and...Freeed.." he moaned out his name as Fred licked his neck up and down, leaving occasional nips and bites along the trail, "God..Freddie.." he gasped as Fred pinched his nipple through the thin fabric of his shirt.

"Mmmm?" Fred asked, licking his jawline, licking his way to his ear, and flicked his tongue over his earlobe, while his hands were buried in his silky hair, rubbing his head gently.

"L-lets..mmh..cut the c-cake.." George panted.

"Hmn.." Fred smiled, and drew away from him, and gave a chaste little peck on his lips, "Alright.." he slipped an arm around his waist, "lets blow out the candles and make a wish, baby.._our_ wish.."

Being with each other until the day they die in each others' arms...

And that day was an eternity away...

They leaned forward and blew out the candles, wishing for their shared dream with their whole hearts.

Fred picked the knife which appeared on the table beside the cake, "Hold the knife with me, baby.." he said softly to George, who wrapped his right hand over his around the handle, and together, they cut out a small piece from it.

Fred gingerly took it in his hand, and smiled crookedly as he said, "Let's have it together.."

He placed it between his love's slightly parted lips and closed his mouth over his, eating it right from his love's sweet mouth, and he thought the cake tasted wonderful with George's flavour in it.

They moaned softly as they gripped each other's shoulders and pulled each other close, despite the fact that they already were as close as two humans could possibly be.

Fred licked the dribble of his love's saliva from his chin, and sucked his bottom lip, his free hand playing with the bulge inside his pants while the other held him around his back, and George hummed in delight, twining his fingers in his hair and pulling it softly.

"Mmm, oh Merlin..you're growing more sexual by the day, Freddie.." George whined as their bodies rocked gently in pleasure.

"Can't help it when my partner's so gorgeous and sweet.." Fred replied as he gripped George's shoulders and pushed him gently down onto their bed while their eyes stayed locked on to each other, alight with a slowly simmering desire, talking in their own language of love and need.

"I'll make love to you, baby.." Fred whispered as he stared into those beautiful blue eyes he so loved, and lay on top of him, caressing his cheek softly, "Slow and gentle..my love..I'll love you with great care tonight.."

George gave a lopsided smile, "Did that cake affect your mind?" he murmured as Fred sat on him undoing his buttons.

"Maybe...maybe a little.." Fred kissed his little nipple softly, "After all, I ate it from your mouth..with your taste in it.."

He slipped his shirt off him and dropped it to the floor beside their bed.

George reached out and unbuttoned Fred's shirt and took it off him hastily, and rubbed his palms over his chest, while looking into Fred's eyes devotedly, "Git, it was mutual..I ate from your mouth too, and I'm not acting untamed.." he smiled, "thus far.." he added.

Fred bent down and showered feathery kisses all over his chest while rubbing his palm lightly over his neck, kneading his shoulders, sliding down to his arms, "You can never be untamed..you're a, hm..what'll be the most apposite comparison for you..?" he grazed his lips against a nipple, "mh..I'll mull over it while I suck you here.." he murmured before doing exactly that, and George gasped hard above him and bucked his hips slowly against him, "Ahh fucking..M-Merlin..._mmnh_.." George mewled and arched his back slightly, gripping Fred's hair.

Fred sucked his nipple slowly, flicking the tip of his tongue over the hardened bud, occasionally giving gentle nips while George let out surprised short "ah"s and "Oh God"s..

"Like it, Georgie?" he murmured as he skimmed his lips down to his stomach, which carved in with utter delight under his warm breath and murmurs, "You'll like it here even more.." he licked slowly around his navel, before kissing his navel.

"Oh fuck!" George whimpered as he rocked his hips harder against him and gripped his hair tighter.

Fred straightened and pulled down George's pants to reveal wonderful, long, smooth porcelain legs, with a faint scattering of red hair just over his shins and nowhere else.

"I've never really appreciated the sheer beauty of your legs, sweetheart.." Fred said, "I'm always in such a hurry to ravish you.." he slowly pulled down his boxers and slipped it over his legs, and dropped it on the floor over his pants.

His beautiful cock was damn erect and as red as the slight growth of hair above it with the blood flooding there as Fred made him ecstatic with gentle caresses around his groin.

"God, you're so hard for me, love.." Fred noted as he let his palm roam up and down his silken, toned thighs, and looked at George's face to see his head thrown back and his smooth, fair throat exposed as he moaned on and on desperately, his hands clutching the bedspread and balled into fists.

"Ngh..oh..Fred..ah ahh..aaah.." George moaned hotly and rocked his hips sinuously, making Fred's prick throb and his heart shudder.

"Mh, you're making it hard to resist deep-throating you, love.." Fred murmured as he grasped his cock gently, the act alone making George shudder in delight and moan.

Fred let out a low moan and took the head in his mouth, swirling his tongue around it, tasting his sweet precum.

"Ohh..Fred..Freeed.." George moaned loudly, thrusting his cock into Fred's mouth, and Fred took it all the way in, sucking in earnest.

George started fucking his mouth, and Fred stopped sucking and released his twin's cock from his mouth, "Ah..dont cum now.." he murmured, and did not notice George groaning huffily as he pushed his waist gently and told him to roll over and lie on his stomach, "You're allowed to cum only when I'm in you and about to spill into you.." he murmured as he slipped down his pants and boxers through his legs, threw them down onto the floor, and lay over George's back, stark naked.

He brushed away his silky ginger hair from the nape of his neck and kissed there slowly, moving toward his throat, to his jaw, then his lips, then back again to his neck.

"God, Freddie...fuck me.." George gasped as Fred rubbed his hard dick tantalizingly over his butt crack.

"Nh..nah..this is retribution, darling.." Fred murmured, "My sweet revenge for all the torturous slow seduction you had inflicted upon me.."

He kissed the rippling muscles on his shoulders, his shoulder blades, the dip toward his spine, its curve...all the while George writhing and groaning under him.

George suddenly knelt and started pushing his arse up toward him, rubbing it against his stomach, moaning and purring as hotly as he could.

_Hmm, trying to make me impatient and hot..._

"Mhn you sexy little devil..that's not gonna work, not tonight.." Fred crooned as he grabbed his arse cheeks, squeezed them and gave a playful slap.

"Ahh!" George half chuckled and half yelped, and slumped down, laughing.

Fred grinned as he leaned closer and kissed his soft cheek while caressing the other, "Stop wriggling your butt, you sweet bastard.." he murmured, switching caressing his cheek to running a finger through his crack.

"God...stop teasing and fuck me..fuck me..please..please Freddie.." George pleaded, and Fred realized that he was wriggling his arse since he was rubbing his shaft against the mattress.

Fred straightened and knelt, "turn over, baby..I myself can't resist much now..."

George turned around and eagerly lifted his legs up and spread them wide open. Fred grabbed his ankles and placed them on his shoulders.

He offered his right hand to George, who grabbed his wrist without a word and put his fingers into his mouth, licking and sucking them, while Fred lovingly stroked his love's slick cock with his free hand.

Fred pulled out his fingers from his soft, warm mouth, "I won't hurt you tonight, Georgie.." he murmured, more to himself, and wriggled in his forefinger very slowly and carefully into his warm, puckered entrance, "Is it hurting, baby..?"

"Argh...you've taken me dry..and I've endured that...so stop asking such silly questions and _fuck me_," he groaned impatiently, a truly horny look on his face.

And Fred needed to see only that to slip in his middle finger, and scissor his fingers in his entrance.

"Uhn..more..m-more.." George hissed, eyes squeezed shut and teeth gritted tight.

He slipped in a third finger, and leaned forward and kissed his throat gently, feeling it ripple with a moan, "I'm sick of hurting you, baby..that's the reason why I'm asking you.." he whispered tenderly as he kissed him slowly over his collarbone, caressing his stomach with his free hand.

George was stroking Fred's cock, making it slick with his precum as he hissed, "Move y-your f-fingers..m-move.."

Fred began finger fucking him, absorbing his whimpers as he kissed him deeply on his lips.

"I want you to tell me when you're ready, darling.." Fred said, hitting his sweet spot as George's moans heightened and his hips twitched wildly.

"I'm r-ready..I'm..ahh..aahh..F-fuck m-me now, s-sweet.." he gasped, biting his lower lip in pleasure.

Fred pulled out his fingers, gripped his love's hips, and thrust in the head slowly.

"Come in, d-darling..c-come inside.." George whimpered and egged him on, his blue eyes clouded with lust and utter love as he stared straight into Fred's eyes.

Fred let out a loving moan as he thrust in fully, and gasped at the warmth and tightness engulfing him.

"Ahh..." Fred panted, throwing back his head and closing his eyes, "So d-damn t-tight..s-so warm.."

"Mhnm..start moving.." George murmured, and began rocking his hips.

Fred threw his head down to see him jerking off with a slow rhythm, and he began thrusting with a matched pace.

"Aaah...G-Georgie..aaah.." Fred leaned closer to his love, burying his hands in his hair as he moved slowly inside him, "Mh..lemme taste your neck.." he kissed his throat, skimming his lips over his rippling adam's apple, licking at the mole below his ear. That earned him a hot moan, and he bit and teased there until he bruised him.

George's free hand was gripping his shoulder, nails digging in as he whispered, "Go faster, my..F-Freddie.."

Fred let out a desperate growl and increased his pace a bit, moving inside him at a steady pace, "I wanna be inside y-you a-all n-night long.." he whispered, and kissed his mouth once more, their moans of utter bliss mingling inside their mouths.

Their wild, sensual dance turned more turbulent with every thrust, turning deeper and stronger, moans turning uncontrolled and incomprehensible, neither knowing who made the last sound, because their moans had merged just like them,

Because they were now a single entity letting out combined, identical moans.

"Aaah..aaaah..aahhh..ahhh.."

Fred had his face buried in the crook of his lover's neck, moaning and whimpering as he rammed in forcefully, his tightly clenched fists pulling and ripping George's hair, while George lay shaking with the impact of his thrusts under him, letting out quivering whimpers.

Head spinning, his soul now completely fused with George's, he looked up to stare into George's eyes and create yet another connection between them as their eyes locked.

His eyes were burning with feral, limitless love and desire, his pupils dilated, letting Fred know that he was his...body and soul...

And Fred knew that he was staring into a faithful mirror...

He was deep inside him, pounding into him so rapidly that he shuddered violently beneath him..

Then, his blue eyes went blank as he stared vacantly into Fred's eyes..

He tightened amazingly around him, pushing Fred with him into a deep abyss..

And then, Fred's mind was a blank stretch of nothingness...hovering over a blissful, open-ended vacuity...

And his brain registered the existence of only a single being in that vast emptiness..

"_GEEOORGE!_"

He collapsed down on him. Hard.

For a few seconds, his mind was devoid of a single thought.

Then, he heard the rasping sound of huge lung-fuls of air they were gasping in, he could feel their hearts hammering against each other, hear the rapid pounding in his ears.

They lay like that for what felt like an eternity, their bodies slowly returning to normalcy after the intense sensations they went through.

"Freddie..you're awesome in bed, d'you know that?" George asked him, his voice muffled against Fred's shoulders.

"I'm not as good as you.." he said truthfully.

"No..you're damn good..that was the most intense sex I've ever had with you," George rubbed his sweaty back lightly.

"Hm..that's the proof of my love growing stronger for you by the day, then.." Fred said.

"Mhn..that's a good thing, then..I'll go through less pain while shitting.." George chuckled.

"Merlin..that's godawful..you experience pain while you..shit?"

"Just kidding, dungbrains.." George laughed, though Fred had a small doubt whether he was simply _kidding_.

Perhaps his twin sensed what he thought by the way his body stiffened, "Now don't plan on grilling me with 'Were you really kidding' and 'Tell the truth'...or you'll be denied sex for a whole week.." George said.

"Mh, that's a little harsh thing to say.." Fred smiled against the silky red hair spilled on the pillow.

They lay in a comfortable silence for a few moments, Fred on top of George, arms and limbs tangled indistinguishably..

Then, Fred remembered something.

"Oh!" he suddenly slid off George, who looked slightly perplexed, and sat up on the bed, bending down and grabbing his pants from the floor, and fumbled in its inner pocket.

And retrieved a small, shiny ebony box.

"What's that?" George asked, creasing his brows in curiosity.

Fred had a wide grin on his face as he wriggled closer to George and sat beside him, "Get up, Georgie.." he hooked an arm under his and pulled him into a sitting position, "Its a birthday gift.." he whispered

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	39. Chapter 39

**Before you read this, I want you guys to understand that they are already of age by the wizarding standards. The age they are of right now in my fic is approximately their age when they left Hogwarts on broomsticks in OoTP!**

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George had his mouth wide open as Fred went down on his knees and said, "I love you, George Fabian Weasley... Will you marry me?"

A beautiful, unforgettable silence filled their little paradise after the last word left his lips.

Fred, bent on one knee, his right palm spooned, on which sat an open ebony box, a silver wedding band glinting in it, and George, tears falling down his eyes and lips trembling as he stared at the ring, then back again at Fred.

The ring was really plain...nothing flashy..

That was all he could afford..

But he could see that George deemed the ring's worth as more than a million galleons.

He could see it in his tear-filled, bright eyes..

He could see it in the tiny smile on his trembling lips...

"Oh God..Freddie..."

His eyes were ablaze with deep emotions as he whispered, "Yes.."

Fred's throat was constricted as he slipped the wedding band into his left ring finger. He straightened up and tangled his arms with his and crashed his mouth to his, a few unbidden tears escaping his own eyes.

They stood, wonderfully naked, tears soaking each other's shoulders as they hugged each other tight.

Fred couldn't believe what just happened right now...

He had been planning this since the day he bought the ring from the shop that Saturday...

Lying awake in his lover's arms as he chewed over the best way to propose the one who lay asleep just a breath away from him..

He knew it the moment the glittering ring caught his eye that it was destined to stay in his love's left ring finger forever..

He couldn't believe that his dear twin, his best friend, his soul mate...

Was now his fiancé...

"Oh George..I love you..I love you so much.." he moaned softly against his shoulder, "I'll take care of you forever, love..."

George gave his reply in joyful sobs against his ear.

"A-and..I'll b-be by y-your side a-always.." he cried softly after a few moments.

They stood clasped in each other's arms in a tight embrace for a long time, until the beautiful truth sunk in..

They were engaged.

* * *

They did not sleep a wink after their engagement.

Instead, after wiping each other's tears and smiling contentedly against each other's lips, and spending a quiet few moments in each other's arms, they drifted into a soft chatter as they sat finishing off their birthday cake.

George then gave him his birthday present with an embarrassed expression: a small teddy bear they used to play with when they were really small.

But the amazing part was that he had modified it splendidly with certain charms so that now two identical, pure white teddy bears were cuddling each other, one bearing the name 'Fred' and the other 'George' in soft pale pink, satin ribbons around their necks.

It was sweet and beautiful..just like George.

"Er..I know its not much..but.." he shrugged sheepishly, "well, that's my, er, present for you.."

Fred was grinning so happily that he looked stupid, "Oh, George..I really love it, you idiot.." he gave a quick peck on his lips, "It must've taken some brilliant charm work to turn that grubby old bear into two fluffy bears.."

And he let him know with a long snogging session that he really, really loved his gift.

Then their conversation slowly veered to the topic of their shared ambition.

Expanding their modest business of owl delivery service of their products and turn it into a wider-scaled, more profitable business..

Start a shop...preferably in Diagon Alley...

Before moving on to bigger and better plans..

Fred told him how he remembered him crying his eyes out that night after their mum burned all of their hard-earned order forms with a single, cruel flick of her wand..

And with it burned away their chance of earning at least 34 galleons..

They did not remember all of the addresses, but sent to a few they remembered anyway.

What hurt his beautiful fiancé was not losing their chance of earning galleons, but the disparagement shown toward them and their ambitions by their mum..

Maybe such little things were what drew them closer after all..

Being often confused with their identities, being considered as one single person rather than two separate individuals (Why, they only needed to look at the way they usually received just a single present for them both in Christmas and their birthdays by most, if not all, people to confirm that fact).

Being despised for their shared dream by their parents, mum in the forefront while dad seconded her, too afraid to contradict her and support his sons, and Percy. They could care less about what he thought; but since he always had that contemptuous look whenever he glanced at them and thought that he was the most successful person in the world, they really had a burning desire to prove him wrong.

They needed to stick together to make their dreams come true, didn't they..

"Try adding two drops, then.." Fred murmured softly beside his twin.

"Hm..it worked with two drops, I guess.." George mused as he peered at the red pastilles slowly turning purple, a vial of hiccupping potion clutched in his hand.

It was nearly half past four in the morning, and they were sitting on the floor, fully clothed, hunched over the pastilles they had started working on an hour ago.

"God..if we test this now we'll puke dark brown choc-"

"Ew.." George laughed.

"What 'eww'.." Fred said, laughing all the same, "that was what we last had.."

"Hmm..speaking of testing, have you thought about developing a counter for this?"

Fred shrugged lightly, "I think adding vomit-inhibiting potion to the pastille might do the trick.."

"So...who's going to try this one out.." George smiled hesitantly.

"Hm..I'll do it," Fred said instantly.

"You sure, Freddie..?" George asked cautiously.

"Yeah.." he grinned.

"But before that lets see if this room can give us vomit-inhibiting potion.." George said, "I don't want you to have it without some remedial measure at our disposal.." So saying, he closed his eyes, and as every time, the room gave them what they wished for..

"Now give me that pastille if you're done with your safety measures.." Fred said as he took the purple coloured pastille from George's hand, who watched him with attentive eyes.

"Woooh! Here goes nothing!" Fred grinned cheerily to George's nervous smile, and put the pastille into his mouth. It tasted really nasty.

He swallowed.

Immediately retched horribly.

And threw up all over the floor.

George tried forcing the vomit-inducing potion into his mouth in between bouts of gagging and retching, and was successful in his third try..

He gulped in the basil flavoured potion, but..

He was puking interminably.

"Oh god!" he heard George gasp, "Why isn't this bloody potion working?!" he yelled worriedly, and forced yet another vial of the potion into his mouth.

But Fred continued retching and choking, his eyes watering and nose leaking as he threw up again.

"Oh no..oh no.." George sounded really freaked out, "Oh shit! Freddie!" George was rubbing his back as he threw up once again, "Oh no! The ruddy potion's not taking effect!"

Before he knew, George hooked an arm under his, held him around his waist and pulled him up. Fred let out an impatient growl, trying to tell him to move away before he-

He puked all over his chest. George hastily took out his wand with his free hand and waved it impatiently over the sick splattered over the floor and his chest, grabbed Fred around the waist and threw him over his shoulder.

Fred heaved once again with an almighty noise and showered his sick down his lover's back, then rested his chin on his shoulder, retching in preparation for the next cascade.

As he felt his body jiggling as George hurried out of their room and started stepping down the stairs carefully, Fred knew where they were headed...

The all too familiar Hospital wing..

He groaned and threw up once again down his lover's back, then spluttered a weak "Not again..".

He puked all along the way, and George cast one 'evanesco' after another, vanishing the sick the moment he spewed it out of his mouth.

As they reached the wing, this time the doors to the wing were open, unlike the time they had made a similar early morning visit to the wing a few months ago.

George made his way in with Fred's head bobbing on his shoulder as he gagged for another spectacular ejection of sick; and that was when Fred saw the reason why the wing was open: Madam Pomfrey was tending to a familiar, bizarre-alien-like fourteen year old boy whose lips were the size of large pumpkins, Ernie MacMillan.

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	40. Chapter 40

Madam Pomfrey hurried over to them, looking flabbergasted as she said, "Merlin's beard..you two have made it a habit of visiting my wing! Is he throwing up because of consuming something unpalatable or some bodily discomfort?" she asked as he retched again; but nothing came out now except for some spit which he spat into his love's shoulder. He felt really queasy.

"Evanesco," George muttered before quickly replying, "Because of consuming foul stuff.."

She hurried off to get the required potion without another word. Meanwhile, Fred watched Ernie staring at them with a strange expression.

In fact, his whole behaviour was quite strange.

He was waving his sea-urchin like fists at them, a wild look in his eyes as he tried to speak. But all he could manage was letting out troll-like grunts.

Fred did not ponder over his strange behaviour, since he felt nauseous and was gagging for another bout of vomiting.

Before he could vomit out his intestines, since he had nothing left in his stomach to expel out anymore, Madam Pomfrey came with a potion and poured it into his mouth.

It tasted like raspberry, unlike the basil-flavoured one which George had given him..

And immediately, his stomach stopped churning and the queasiness faded away.

George set him down on his feet and looked at him apprehensively, "You okay, Fred?"

Fred was grinning light-heartedly, "Yep..Merlin, I thought I'd vomit my guts out.." he then turned to Madam Pomfrey, "What potion did you give me?" he nodded at the empty vial in her hand.

"Bowel-relaxing potion.." she said, tucking away the empty vial in her robes before looking up at them sharply, "What is it with you two these days? You must take better care of your health, Mr. Weasley.." she chastised, then her gaze fell on MacMillan, and her eyes narrowed as she looked back at them, "I had counselled you against punishing him by yourself, but I can see you have done exactly that.."

"Oh no!" Fred flatly denied in a truthful, slightly indignant tone, "We have done nothing,"

"Then why is it that MacMillan is here in my ward, hexed so horribly that he is barely recognizable? I know you two only too well to realize that this is your handiwork," she nodded at MacMillan's rafflesia-like lips and sea-urchin-like hands.

"No, we haven't done anything of the sort. You can ask him yourself.." Fred insisted.

Fred thought he saw the faintest of smiles cross her lips as she replied in tone which came out softer than she intended, "But unfortunately, I can't, Mr. Weasley..since you have been very clever to attack him with a stinging hex right on his mouth to stop him from speaking, and his hands to avoid disclosure of anything by writing...and the strength of the hex is so strong that it'll take at least two months for the effects to completely wear off...and I can't accuse you without being sure, you see..."

_Ooh! Clever...? Haha..but hexing his hands wasn't planned..And I was right..maybe she supports us secretly after all..._Fred thought with a small smile.

"Then there's an easy way to know it from him if we were the one's behind it," George said with a smirk, and started moving toward the bed, where MacMillan sat looking at them with that manic glint still in his eyes.

_Why is he acting this way? Did he find out the truth?! But we were polyjuiced as girls!_

Fred and Madam Pomfrey watched as George stood near MacMillan and enunciated slowly, as though talking to a dim-witted, small, petrified kid, "Were we the ones who did this to you, Ernie? Just nod or shake your head to give your reply.."

MacMillan tried moving his head, but all he could do was jerk his head which could be taken as either a nod or a shake. His lips weighed so much that it seemed his chin was resting on his chest because of the downward pull of the weight (he couldn't be sure because it was hid behind his drooping, fleshy red lips) and he was unable to lift his head.

Madam Pomfrey had a cross between an amused smile and a frown on her face, "You think I did not try what you did just now?" she asked George, shaking her head at him.

"Why don't you ask any of his close friends then? Fred asked.

"Hmm, I'll consider that.." she looked at him knowingly, though her eyes sparkled with amusement, "You two do have brains, I must admit.."

"What? We haven't done anything..." Fred said, a bit exasperated (feigned, of course).

"Alright, alright.." she said softly, "McGonagall popped in here a few days ago. She did not take into account MacMillan's hexed condition as she reprimanded him for his rude conduct and handed him detention every week until the term ends, starting from the week he'll be discharged from here," she looked at MacMillan piteously, "So much for a kiss from a girl.."

Fred caught his lover's eyes, and they both had to stifle bouts of laughter.

That morning, while they were seated at the Gryffindor table for breakfast with Lee, Angelina came hurrying with the Daily Prophet clutched in her hand, an expression of manic disbelief etched on her face.

"Is it true?!" she breathed as she plopped down beside Lee, her eyes travelling from Fred to George and back again.

For one wild moment, Fred thought she had somehow discovered about their relationship and was asking about their engagement. His eyes instantly darted toward George's hand, and saw that his left hand was wedged into his side pocket.

But he was spared from having a massive heart attack when she opened the Daily Prophet and pointed at the colour photos of Fred, Harry, Krum and Hermione (Fred grinning cheerily and waving, Harry grinning hesitantly, Krum looking surly as ever, Hermione giving a tight-lipped smile).

He slowly let out a breath he had been holding as he took the Prophet and placed it between him and George, who stuck his head eagerly with his to read.

Alongside their photos was a heading in bold letters and a short piece below it:

**Harry's heartache and Hermione's hurtful hunger for handsome heroes**

Harry Potter, a boy like no other, perhaps – yet a boy suffering all the usual pangs of adolescence, _writes Rita Skeeter_.

Deprived of love since the tragic demise of his parents, fourteen-year-old Harry Potter thought he had found solace in his steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Muggle-born Hermione Granger. Little did he know that he would shortly be suffering yet another emotional blow in a life already littered with personal loss.

Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to have a taste for famous, good-looking and gifted wizards that Harry alone cannot satisfy. Since the commencement of the Triwizard Tournament, Ms. Granger had her eyes set on the handsome, extremely talented and high-spirited Hogwarts champion, Fredrick Weasley, and the wizarding-world famous Bulgarian seeker and hero of the last World Quidditch Cup, Viktor Krum.

Both Krum and Weasley are openly smitten by the devious Ms. Granger, and she certainly seems to be enjoying the attention she is receiving from these two able Triwizard Champions. Krum has already invited her to visit him in Bulgaria over the summer holidays, and insists that he "never felt this way about any other girl", while Weasley candidly admits that he feels the most gratified and over the moon when Ms. Granger acknowledges his talents and compliments him, and discloses that they are so close that he always keeps Ms. Granger informed about his whereabouts, whom he affectionately calls "'Mione". His twin George Weasley seemed to be very supportive of his brother's budding romance with Ms. Granger as he stood by his brother's endearing attempts in wooing her after the Triwizard Tournament's second task, right in the presence of Ms. Granger's beau Krum, who seemed more than ready to have a nasty mêlée with the Weasley twins. Ms. Granger seemed to take pleasure in the boys' palpable fight for her attention. The tension in the air was heightened after Harry joined them, and his heart-wrenching agony was evident on his face as he discerned his girlfriend's infidelity.

However, it might not be Ms. Granger's doubtful natural charms that have captured these unfortunate boys' interests.

"She's really ugly," says Pansy Parkinson, a pretty and vivacious fourth-year student, "but she'd be well up to making a Love Potion, she's quite brainy. I think that's how she's doing it."

Love Potions are, of course, banned at Hogwarts, and no doubt Albus Dumbledore will want to investigate these claims. In the meantime, Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart on a worthier candidate.

...

Fred and George exchanged '_looks_' of profound meaning, and then burst into raucous laughter.

"I..haven't read...anything more...bizarre and...hilarious!" Fred gasped in between bouts of uncontrolled laughter

"Freddie, Freddie..want some help to woo "'Mione"?" George laughed hard, clutching Fred's arm.

"Oh god! Harry's...heart-wrenching..agony!" Fred gasped.

"But what if he really has fallen for Hermione, Fred?" George asked, still chuckling.

"Well, in that case he won't stand a chance...he'll have her over my dead body!" Fred laughed.

_Whoops! _

He uttered the d-word, and George's grin faltered imperceptibly.

Fred draped an arm around George's waist companionably, and he felt George relaxing immediately.

Angelina was sitting in front of them with an uncertain-half-smile, and Lee was looking at them questioningly.

"What's so funny in that paper?" he asked, brows knitted, as he shovelled bacon into his mouth.

"Well," Angelina grinned, "it says in the Prophet that Fred is head over heels in love with Hermione, whom he loves to call 'Mione..and that he and Krum are fighting for her love.."

Lee looked at him with wide eyes, "Really?"

"Nah, are you cracked..?" Fred denied with a careless smile, "I don't like dating people much younger than me...besides, Hermione's like a sister, you git..she's Ron's friend.." he said airily.

_Ha...isn't that a ridiculous thing to say when you're engaged to your own twin brother..._

But another tiny, pure voice in his head said.._but he happens to be the only one you ever felt attracted to...the one you lost your virginity to..the only one you've known physically... emotionally..._

_The only one you truly love..._

"Hmm..yeah, you like dating people of your age-group..you had proved that once by asking Angie out.." he threw a protective look at her (Angelina rolled her eyes and silently jabbed a spoonful of porridge into her mouth).

"That happened _aeons_ ago and you are a dickhead to mention that now.." Fred said matter-of-factly.

"Who _is_ your current love interest, by the way..?" Angelina asked casually.

"That isn't something to be much interested about now, is it?" Lee mumbled as he poked a spoon onto his plate.

Fred ignored Lee as he shrugged lightly, "Well, I'm too wrapped up in developing our joke-stuffs to spare much time for love-interests, if truth be told.." he replied smoothly, and gave George a secret squeeze to his waist, who responded by leaning against Fred's arm, "Besides...I don't believe in flings, you see..I believe in true love.." he gave a playful wink.

Lee coughed horribly, then said, "You have emotions like these in you? I thought the only things you ever thought about are 'how to humiliate others' and 'how to develop products to humiliate others'.." Lee laughed at him.

"I think I know on whom to test our product next, Fred.." George smirked.

By the time it was evening, and they were in their common room, Fred and George had been wished by almost all of the fellow Gryffindors, and received a load of birthday presents.

Among them were:

A photo album of their baby pictures and the usual chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream from mum (for them both), a broomstick-repairing kit from dad (for them both), black dragonskin jackets for each of them from Charlie, a fat book 'Learn to Earn Gallons of Galleons with a little bit of Guts' from Bill (for them both), a fatter book 'Steps to become a successful Minister' from Percy (for only and only Fred), a large pack of Bertie's Every Flavour Beans from Lee, Dungbombs from Ron, Birthday card from Ginny, Sneakoscope from Harry, two stainless steel bracelets from Angelina (she had grown closer to them these days because of Lee), a box of chocolate frogs from Hermione.

They shared their mum's cake with their friends and siblings that evening in the common room. Being April fool's day, they proceeded with their yearly 'special pranks' by 'accidently' leaving fake wands lying on the couches, so that it let out a loud squawk, transfigured into crabs or lobsters and clung onto the butts of some hapless victim who sat on it, or exploded with an almighty blast whenever someone absently picked it, thereby scaring the shit out of them.

When Hermione came with her present for them, they noticed that her fingers were as thick as radishes and were wrapped in bandages.

"Oh, some jealous fans of yours decided to give me a nice treat for playing with your feelings.." she replied with a careless smile when they asked her the reason for it.

"Ah..that was harsh.." George said compassionately as she flopped down on a couch between Harry and Ron (who was scarfing down his fourth piece of cake).

"But how did that Skeeter cow listen to our conversation, Georgie?" Fred wondered as they stood pinning their pin-precision-pointer onto the notice board. They had modified the ton-tongue-toffee they used to swell MacMillan's lips into a much milder variety after they got an idea that evening when they saw Lee and Angelina snogging in a corner of the common room.

"No idea..maybe she's got an invisibility cloak like Harry's..." George said.

"Or maybe there are spies of hers around here.." Fred suggested.

"Hmm, but I don't feel much resentment toward her..cause she mentioned a few factual things about you.." George murmured.

They took a good look at what the pin-precision-pointer was displaying, and laughed.

**Kiss unconTROLLably****!**

**Slip a troll-lip-toffee**

**Into your lover's coffee**

**Watch her lips grow plumpy**

**Enjoy chompy-chompy!**

_Contact Fred and George Weasley for the price_

"Urgh!" Fred groaned, "That's the most godawful, shitty ad we've ever stuck..Guess the charms in these pointers are weakening, Georgie..we'll have to fine-tune em a bit.."

"Chompy-chompy.." George mouthed silently as he read again, laughing hard, "That's terrible.." he chuckled.

Then their eyes met..

His pale blue eyes sparkling with mirth..

And standing there in the common room, looking into those beautiful eyes, Fred thought for the umpteenth time that he loved him..his sweet baby brother..

"Freddie.."

His sweet voice brought him back to earth, or should he say..paradise again..since the love of his life stood right by his side, gazing at him..

"Mmm?" Fred asked, smiling slightly.

"You've got that faraway look.."

"Hmm..I was just thinking about some..things about you," he smiled meaningfully, then asked, "Anyway..what were you saying about the factual things that Skeeter woman mentioned..?"

"About you being handsome..."

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	41. Chapter 41

**I made a few (rather embarrassing) grammatical errors in the last chp (few were typos and few cuz I'm not a native speaker). I've corrected the mistakes and reposted it! (Ah it's in times like these that I wish I were a native English speaker...*sighs* But I'm an Asian...Yeah, so er.. once again, please forgive me for the errors and enjoy the story...:) )**

**And yeah, I like readers who point out mistakes! :D **

**We're nearing the end of this story, dear readers****...*sniffles* :'( **

**It'll turn a little dark and angsty after this chapter.**

**I love you guys and your reviews.. :')**

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The following weeks passed in a blur of intense weekly sessions of apparition practises, complete human transfiguration (human to meerkat) lessons (some said that it was going to be removed from the sixth year syllabus next year because of the risks involved and the complexity-level), owl delivery of their new joke-stuff: troll-lip-toffees (safety test on Lee confirmed that its effects wore off within an hour), and conducting experiments on the pastilles for detecting side-effects and developing a counter-effect pastille. (They decided to name the product as 'puking pastille', one of the many sweets they were planning to develop for the purpose of skiving classes).

They discovered that the reason why Fred puked uncontrollably that day was because George gave him a whole vial of vomit-inhibiting potion instead of a mere 5 mg (and George gave him a second vial of the potion when he did not stop puking, and that worsened his condition). Excess of vomit-inhibiting potion actually makes it vomit-inducing, they learnt. So they tried adding minute quantities of it to the pastilles, but found that that did not work, since the properties of the potion changed into rash-stimulating when it reacted with the sugar in the pastille.

So they scrapped the whole idea of adding vomit-inhibiting potion, and were experimenting with a whole lot of potions like bowel-relaxing, morning-sickness-alleviating, vomit-inducing (they thought maybe its properties might reverse after reacting with the pastille). But they still weren't anywhere close to developing a counter for the puking pastilles.

Meanwhile, apparation lessons got better and better for Fred and George. They were now able to apparate into the old-fashioned wooden hoops on the floor in front of them without leaving behind a limb or an eyebrow. Fred found the whole 'Three D's" rule nonsensical. Remembering what those bloody D's stood for alone drove him crazy. So he had stopped trying that a long time ago, and instead developed his own method which he was comfortable with. He found that he apparated quite fine when he forced all thoughts out of his mind and concentrated solely on transferring every particle of his body into the hoop in front of him.

George thought that his method was a bit convoluted, and stuck to the 'Three D's' rule, and Fred naturally called him a wacky screwball for that. He was weird like that, his Georgie.

"Really.." Fred rolled his eyes lovingly at him as they practised apparation in the Great Hall with the whole sixth year Hogwarts students, "I mean..how the hell d'you remember those maddeningly similar-sounding words...Desperation, Deliberation, Deportation...I say a different set of three words each time.."

"I think the second word sounded strangely familiar.." Lee said as he stood with his eyes closed in concentration and exerting pressure to his stomach as though trying to lay an egg.

"Its Destination, Determination and Deliberation, nitwits.." George laughed as he spun on his spot gracefully and neatly apparated into the hoop with a distinct _crack_.

"Meh...Declaration, Damnation and Defecation..." Fred muttered carelessly, then concentrated hard on transferring his entire body into the hoop, spun on the spot, and felt the familiar sensation of being squeezed painfully into a thin rubber tube, and apparated with that loud _crack_ into the hoop.

"Oooh wow! You apparated damn perfectly with those random D-words.." Lee said, "Let's see, hmm.. Desiccation, Derivation..er..Decoration!"

Lee apparated, but not without leaving behind his dreadlocks and an arm.

Two weeks after they had visited the hospital wing that morning, MacMillan was discharged, with the size of his lips considerably reduced; it was now about twice the normal size, but looked a lot less grotesque nevertheless.

One evening, they were heading for their common room after their last class on Friday when they bumped into MacMillan, who was, most probably, on his way to serve detention.

The moment his gaze fell on them, the same crazed expression he had that day in the hospital wing crossed his features, and he hurried over to them, gesturing wildly to make them stop.

_What's it with this bloody buffoon...?_ Fred wondered, exchanging confused looks with George and Lee.

MacMillan skidded to a halt before them and started miming something crazily, flailing about his arms, jabbing a finger at his own chest, then pointing it at Fred and George. His eyes were bulging and his irises danced feverishly as he grunted urgently, then shook his head vigorously.

_Did the hexes affect his mind...?_

"We can understand that you're regretful.." _You douche..._ Fred somehow did not feel like showering him with abuses and showing open hostility. He felt that their scores were even now after hexing him so terribly that the effects still showed quite awfully.

MacMillan shook his head with renewed vigour and looked at them with a harried expression.

"What? You mean you aren't regretful?" George asked.

He shook his head agitatedly, then let out a frustrated growl, stamping a foot.

Fred's patience was wearing thin, and was on the verge of blowing his top, "If you'd stop twitching like a twitchy chipmunk and get out of our way, we can attend to better things, you know.." he said acerbically and strode away. George and Lee threw final wide-eyed, befuddled looks at MacMillan before pulling alongside Fred.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" George said.

"Merlin knows..maybe he guessed we're the perpetrators..maybe his sissy friend bumped into those third year girls and the truth might've surfaced.." Fred said, shrugging. He somehow really didn't care about getting discovered now. After all, what could be the maximum punishment they'd get in that case..maybe a detention or two..nothing worse than that, because in the end, they were the injured party, weren't they? They had simply retaliated. And besides, he knew the Head of his house only too well to know that she never steps out of line with her punishments; he had a good experience of that.

"Nah, I don't think they've found out it was us.." Lee said, looking serious for once, "Or else that Barry..Garry.. whatever his name is..he might've informed McGonagall about it.." he reasoned.

"Mh yeah," Fred and George said together unconsciously, "I agree with you there.." George said.

They had their apparation test the next weekend. They both demonstrated apparation before the examiners from the Ministry really well, and passed the test with distinction. But Lee wasn't as fortunate as them, and failed because he left his eyelashes behind. He was comforted by a patient Angelina as he griped and yelled curses at the Ministry officials once they were in their common room.

"You can give a re-test, Lee.." she said.

"You can say all that 'cause _you've_ passed.." he mumbled, "Those arseholes..they made me fail cause I left behind a few ruddy eyelashes!"

"Dickhead don't get me started," Fred said finally, growing irritated of his grumblings, "there are loads of people who give one re-test after another to pass, you git..Apparation can at times be a tad difficult for even the brightest of witches and wizards.."

"Take Charlie's case as a classic example.." George said, that gentle look back on his beautiful face, "That bloody git was a prefect..and he had to give two re-tests to pass.."

"Seriously?" Lee asked, perking up.

"Yeah.." George nodded, while Fred said nothing, instead looked at them with a jaded, depreciating 'what-the-fuck' look, and muttered "Histrionic idiot," at Lee.

That evening, a barn owl rapped the glass of the window of their dorm with its beak, and they opened the window and untied a familiar little envelope from its leg.

"What's it?" Lee asked, halfway into his pajamas.

"Its for us.." Fred said as he saw Madam Pomfrey's crammed, tiny writing on the envelope.

Fred ripped open the envelope, George standing close to him, their red heads stuck together as they read what was written in the note in it.

It was much, much shorter than the note she had sent them last time:

_Your secondary-level blood analysis report is ready. Report to my office immediately._

Panicky, alarmed pale blue eyes met.

Without wasting another second, they rushed out of their dorm, not bothering to hear or respond to what Lee was babbling. Fred's heart was thudding with that inexplicable nasty feeling which always precedes a cataclysmic event as they thundered down the spiral stairs toward the common room.

Something about those crisp, short lines in that note scared him.

He reached out and gripped his beloved's hand tightly.

"Georgie..I'm scared.." he whispered as they sped through the corridor.

_What if my love has something...something fatal in his blood...no..oh no..._

"Stop being paranoid, my love.." George said softly, responding accurately to his thoughts.

He felt like he'd faint when that dreadful thought went on and on his mind, and gazed at his love hungrily, gripping his warm hand tighter as they flew down the grandstairs toward the first floor Hospital Wing passageway.

They knocked and entered the matron's office.

Madam Pomfrey, Fred observed with a bewildered start, did not have that usual kind deportment as she motioned for them to take their seats.

"Before I hand you your reports, you must know that the Headmaster is informed of these reports by me," she said in clipped tones, her expression stony, "And you will be accompanied by me to his office after you have a look at your reports.."

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**Please review!**


	42. Chapter 42

**I got the idea for whatever I've written in this chp from J.K Rowling's mentioning of the Gaunt family's inbreeding in the HBP because of their pureblood mania and their fanaticism and superiority-complex about their Slytherin ancestry. (Dumbledore informs Harry about it in one of their pensieve trips if you remember! )**

**Maybe that was why J.K portrayed Merope Gaunt as cross-eyed, Morfin as remorseless, antisocial and deranged and Marvolo as a retard! HAHA! :D**

**Wow so maybe that was why Tom Riddle was emotionless and psychopathic (cuz he's Merope's son, who was *I assume* born out of incest *that's just my ridiculous hypothesis!* and he inherited the volatile temperament of the incesting Gaunts). Of course, that, in addition to the fact that he wasn't loved by anyone in his childhood.**

**Man, J.K.'s a genius isn't she?**

**Anyway...enjoy the chapter!**

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**Blood Analysis Report, Level: Secondary, Confirmation of anomaly**

Name: George Fabian Weasley, Sex: M, Age: 17

Anomaly confirmed: one

Particulars:

Antik magick: _Levensviata_

Essence: Phoenix

Type: Complex magic involving more than three spells, potions, dark magic.

Purpose: Healing of all injury and impairment (excepting death), prevention of structural-genetic abnormalities caused by inbreeding, reversal of expression of recessive deleterious genes.

Source:

1) Black family (yr. 142)

- Black family inbreeding.

Cause:

Copulation (yr. 1994)

- Sexual intercourse with immediate blood relation resulted into the automatic activation of [repressed] antik magick: levensviata, as a physiological reaction against expression of recessive deleterious genes in the offspring in case of pregnancy.

**...**

Name: Fredrick Gideon Weasley, Sex: M, Age: 17

Anomaly confirmed: none

** ...**

_Cause...copulation...yr. 1994...sexual intercourse with immediate blood relation..._

Fred read that line over and over again, a sick feeling erupting at the pit of his stomach. His body remained stiff. It was the parchment in his hand that shook like a leaf, since the hand that held it trembled with terror. Absolute terror.

His eyes stayed glued on to the parchment clutched in his hand. His arms and limbs were suddenly lifeless. His insides were filled with ice.

He couldn't lift his head and look up at Madam Pomfrey. He could feel her gaze burning into them both.

And George... He was completely still beside him. He wasn't even breathing.

"So," Madam Pomfrey's cold voice broke the awful silence, "I shouldn't be asking this question under normal circumstances. But as you can see, your case is hardly normal. So I have to ask this as a part of my profession. Whom do you have sex with, Mr. Weasley?"

Fred mustered up his courage and looked up at Madam Pomfrey, and saw that she had a look of utter disgust upon her face as her eyes darted between them both, "Which of you two is George Weasley?" she asked in a deadly tone.

"Me.." George whispered, hangdog.

"Have you been having sex with your sister?!" she shrieked, turning into a scary creature of a woman, lips curling in disgust.

"What? No!" he said, horrified and hurt at the mere thought.

"Then who?! A male?! Your brother?!" A look of renewed horror crossed her features as her eyes fell on their lightly-touching upper arms as they sat side by side, "Your twin?!" she shrieked even louder in utter revulsion.

"No!" Fred cut in immediately before his fragile lover could break down under the harshness of her accusatory tone and accept it, his voice surprisingly strong and fierce. Something in him told him to lie at her face. Lie as expertly as he could and vehemently deny it.

"Then who?!" she yelled, crinkling her nose and scowling in abhorrence at them as though they were rotten fishes, "Which one of your brothers?!

"I d-didn't.." George breathed, staring white-faced and wide-eyed at Madam Pomfrey.

Looking at his frightened face, Fred felt a powerful surge of impassioned protective feeling rise in him for his love.

"Of course he didn't!" Fred said hotly, "How can you accuse him like that?!"

"Because the report in your hand clearly states so, Mr. Weasley," she said, her eyes blazing with loathing.

"What if it is wrong?! You said it can show flawed results!" Fred retorted. His subconscious knew he was playing a losing game, but his raw instinct made him fight skilfully.

"This report isn't flawed, because I performed the test countless times until I was finally convinced that it isn't the result that is wrong, it is your twin!" she spat.

"Well, then maybe you were doing it wrong!" Fred shot back.

She rolled her eyes with a mixture of exasperation and hatred, "Oh please! Do not accuse me of being 'wrong'. There is no use denying the truth, Mr. Weasley," she snarled, "Well, I don't want to waste my time and energy trying to convince you of the accurateness of the report! You are denying it to save your twin's skin as it is! Or maybe both of yours!", she pulled a disgusted face, " I reported the matter to the Headmaster as soon as I was sure of the report's accuracy, since I'm not sure how to deal with this. I've never dealt with anything like this! The Headmaster will know what to do with you. He had requested me to take you to his office." She finished with a bitingly cold tone, and got up from her seat with an air of awful finality.

Fred and George got to their feet, and followed her as she marched ahead of them. Fred felt George's eyes on him, and he looked at him to see his beautiful face drained of all colour, his eyes alight with raw fear.

_Game over, Freddie..._ he could hear George's thoughts...his frightened whisper echoed inside his head.

Fred stared into his love's identical pale blue eyes profoundly, trying to say _Lie...lie as convincingly as you can, my angel..._

George's eyes turned resolute as he gave a little nod, and turned his gaze ahead as they walked briskly behind a speeding Madam Pomfrey.

They will lie at their faces and deny it. Deny their beautiful incestuous relationship completely.

Because they weren't yet ready to shout it to the world and stop living their life as a big lie.

They needed to be financially secure and independent before that. They needed to get out of Hogwarts before that. They needed to stop relying on their parents for monetary support and stay separately from them before that.

Fred's heart was leaping with fright as he thought of the man they were about to lie to...

Albus Dumbledore.

It was as good as lying to oneself. He wasn't a moron to not realize that there is no chance of their lies escaping undetected by Dumbledore. He knew only a few could stand unaffected by the penetrating blue eyes behind those half-moon spectacles.

But he forced his mind to stay cool and composed nevertheless.

_This is not going to be the end of the world...or the end of Georgie and you...stay calm...everything's fine... _he filled his mind with self-reassuring thoughts as they reached the stone gargoyle in front of the hidden spiral stairs to the headmaster's office. He needed to stay strong for his Georgie. His baby brother wouldn't find the strength to lie if he faltered.

Madam Pomfrey muttered the password in a very low voice so that they couldn't hear it, and the gargoyle leapt aside, revealing the spiral stairs.

They climbed the stairs quickly, Fred forcing his heart to stop beating rapidly with each step.

Finally, they were before a polished oak door. Madam Pomfrey knocked once.

"Enter," came Dumbledore's voice without delay.

Madam Pomfrey pushed open the door and they stepped inside. His office was a spacious circular room, with various whizzing and buzzing contraptions on the table tops, mantelpiece and glass cabinets of which Fred and George would've been extremely interested in if the situation wasn't as dire as the one they were in. At the side was a large cage, in which perched a beautiful, magnificent red phoenix, Fawkes. The portraits of Hogwarts ex-Headmasters were lined along one side of the wall, all of them snoozing peacefully, sitting on their chairs.

And in the middle of all this, at a large table scattered with the curious contraptions, parchments and a few leather-bound, huge books sat the most accomplished wizard of the time and their Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, regarding them with steady blue eyes.

"Please make yourselves comfortable," he said, motioning a hand slightly.

They obliged; Fred and George sitting side by side, while Madam Pomfrey to George's right, maintaining a good distance from him.

"Well, let's not beat around the bush and get straight to the point of why you are here," he said quietly, gazing at them steadily, his expression quite neutral, "Poppy sent me a note which said that a blood test on a student of Hogwarts revealed that he has a rare old magic ingrained in his antibodies. But the shocking part was that the student had been having an incestuous relationship which triggered the activation of the dormant old magic, and that student is none other than George Weasley," his gaze flitted between Fred and George.

"Its me.." George said, guessing Dumledore's next question accurately.

Dumbledore gave a slight inclination of his head to acknowledge George.

"Sir, he is wrongly accused!" Fred began frantically, "he did not-"

Dumbledore held up a hand to stop him, and said, "Before I say anything on the matter of your alleged relationship with one of your siblings, George, I want to know if you have understood the nature of your condition perfectly or not,"

"No, I haven't," George said truthfully.

Dumbledore's gaze swept to Madam Pomfrey, and said, "Please enlighten him about his condition, Poppy. He has a right to know about it,"

Madam Pomfrey said in a forced tranquil voice as she rigidly gazed ahead of her and avoided looking at them, "What he has entrenched in his antibodies is a very ancient magic used by the Black family of the second century for healing purposes. But the more important purpose was prevention of mutilated birth of the babies they had out of...incest." she cringed as she said the last word, "The Blacks, distantly related to Mr. Weasley here, were pureblood fanatics who were very dedicated to the perpetuation of the royal blood in them, and for that reason, bred among themselves to avoid the mixing of 'other bloods'. The magic, levensviata, was passed on to the offsprings, who were born without the expected genetic and physical abnormalities, and the process continued on until the strength of the magic diminished in the later generations of Blacks. By then, incest among immediate family members also ceased to transpire, and they married cousins instead. The knowledge of producing levensviata was also lost as time passed.

"Mr. Weasley has trace amount of the magic, so I'm not sure about its effectiveness. The magic, which was present in a repressed form in him, was activated the moment it sensed the body getting penetrated by or penetrating an immediate blood relation. That was because of its defense-mechanism against the expression of recessive genes in the offspring which might result out of the intercourse, thereby ensuring the birth of a perfectly healthy baby; in case he had been having a relationship with his...sister...a-and if sh-she gets pregnant..or..in the," she was growing more and more repulsed, "extremely rare case of male pregnancy among wizards... Also, his resistance against ailments and injuries are improved because of the magic..

"Levensviata has core-essence of phoenix, since phoenix tears, which has immense healing powers, and phoenix blood, which has regenerative properties, are used in the conjuring of this magic...meaning it can heal and reverse everything, except death. That is because the phoenix blood and tears, once in the blood of humans, lose its property to reverse death." She finished off mechanically.

Dumbledore sat with his chin resting on his interlinked fingers with a pensive look, "That was a very comprehensive knowledge about levensviata you imparted to us, Poppy. Thank you very much.." he said earnestly, "Yes, death can be reversed by one and only one living being, and that immortal being is perched there in that cage," he motioned a hand slightly in the direction of Fawkes without taking his eyes off them.

"So," he said, looking at them with those benign blue eyes and an unbiased expression, "any questions, Fredrick, George?"

Fred, his mind whirring with all this new, vast, maze-like information, nodded his head slightly.

"Please feel free to ask then, Fredrick.." Dumbledore said softly.

"Why am I, in spite of being his twin, not having the condition..?" he asked in a quiet tone. He was amazed at how he sounded so cool and collected in spite of his inner turmoil. _Why am I not having the condition in spite of having sex with my love if having it was what caused it for Georgie...?_

Dumbledore looked at him for a few seconds, his gaze giving him the feeling of being X-rayed, before saying, "Please make it clear to Fredrick, Poppy.."

"Because like I said that day, such conditions are rarely repetitive." She said in an acidic tone, "Even though genomes of twins are same, their gene expressions, that is, the process of using information from genes for the synthesis of functional gene products, are different." She wasn't even looking at them as she said this.

"And I am sure that piece of information simply bounced of your head, Fredrick," he gave the first small smile since they met, then sobered quickly as he said, "And in the extremely unlikely case of you having a relationship with your twin and still not having the condition is because, if you recall what Madam Pomfrey said, George already had the condition since his birth in a repressed state, while you did not. That was what she meant by all the jargons and mumbo-jumbo she explained to you just now. Anything else..?"

_Merlin did he read my mind?!_ Fred's heart lurched and his stomach did a somersault. Dumbledore had just answered his thoughts accurately.

George gave a meek little nod at Dumbledore's question, and when Dumbledore gave an encouraging nod, said, "What was all that about pregnancy..?"

"Are you pregnant by any of your sibling or impregnated any of them?" she asked in a quick, rude tone, looking as though she felt like vomiting.

"No.." George shook his head truthfully and whispered, and Fred was bursting to tell him to stop being scared and be confident.

"Then you shouldn't be much bothered about it," she said in clipped tones.

"Is that all?" Dumbledore asked, looking solemn.

"Yes," Fred said, and George nodded in agreement.

"Very well, then. Now let's move on to the topic of your suspected relationship with a sibling, George,"

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**Please review! :D**


	43. Chapter 43

**Guest: I'm responding to your review here cuz I cannot send you a PM. (others can skip reading this!)**

**Wow. Some really nice information on voldie, that was. You'd think I might be aware of a basic fact like 'Tom Riddle is Voldemort's father' considering that I'm writing an HP fanfic and that my pen name's 'voldie's lover'.**

**You TOTALLY misunderstood what I said. I of course know that Voldemort's father is Tom Riddle, who was a handsome, rich, snobbish muggle living in a big manor in Little Hangleton, who did not give a fleeting glance to Merope; and she spent her days standing near the window gazing at him as he passed through the road in front of her shack on his horse, dreamt about him, secretly loved him, and her secret was revealed the day Bob Ogden visited the house of Gaunts, and she was attacked mercilessly by her mental father when he was informed of her secret desire by Morfin.**

**My HP knowledge isn't as off as you think.**

**I don't think so Voldemort was psychopathic because of the love potion.(J.K. said in an interview that he was actually a psychopath *sans sexual inclinations*). In fact, that theory of yours doesn't even make sense. Children born out of love potion don't necessarily have to end up as the next dark lords and ladies. Love potion makes a person unknowingly long for the giver of the potion. A child resulting out of it doesn't have to be a psychopath cuz of that. Just how many dark lords and ladies might have been born in that case, cuz I don't think so Merope was the only one who used love potion to lure a person and conceive a child in the HP universe.**

**Voldemort was emotionless cuz he did not receive love from ANYONE in his childhood. J.K said that he would have turned out as a normal person if he had experienced his mother's love. So that actually rules out the possibility of what you said: having been conceived out of love potion's effects made him the person that he was.**

**What I said was he might've inherited those violent tendencies and emotionless nature of the Gaunts through his mother (Now I'm not saying Merope was emotionless. Now don't accuse me of that. Of course she was different from her father and brother and that was why she fell in love with Riddle).**

**J.K is a pure genius. Look at the way she subtly indicated the inbreeding history of the Gaunts by showing Merope as cross-eyed, and depicting her brother and father's unpredictable, violent behaviour.**

**If you still think my HP knowledge is off then please forgive me. Thank you for liking my story.**

**...**

**Tlcatlady wondered why Madam Pomfrey did not consider the possibility of George being a victim of sorts before showering accusations at him, and I've got to say, she's damn right (and intelligent!) to have thought of it! Madam Pomfrey should've considered that! :) **

**This chapter's for you, TLC! :D **

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"I want to hear your say on the allegation on you, George," Dumbledore said, an expression of polite interest on his face as he leaned forward slightly.

George's expression turned resolute as he said, "I did not have a relationship with any of my close siblings. I have been wrongly accused, sir."

"What do you mean by that, Mr. Weasley!" Madam Pomfrey cut in angrily, "That my report is incorrect?! It is evident from the result that you readily engaged in sexual activity with one of your siblings!"

"What makes you so sure that it might have been consensual?" Dumbledore asked her calmly, "He could've been taken advantage of by a family member; and that doesn't necessarily have to be a sibling,"

Madam Pomfrey blinked, as though this had been an eye-opener for her, "Well, of course, Albus..it- it can be a possibility.." she said, a bit surprised by this new angle of viewing the matter.

"I want you to clarify this little doubt of ours, George. Were you taken advantage of by any of your family member?" he asked gently.

"N-No.." George said, shuddering at the thought. Fred could hear his heart beating fast, and his head whirring frantically to cook up a lie, "I wasn't taken advantage of by any of my family member. But-"

"There you have it," Madam Pomfrey said, the surprised look vanishing from her face and the same old look of odium back on her face, "it is clear from his mannerisms that he-"

"Poppy," Dumbledore stopped her sternly, "As you can see, Fredrick and George are courteously silent when we talk. I would expect the same of you too. Now, George, please continue," he rested his chin on his interlinked fingers, keen on listening to George's side of the story.

"I had a passing relationship with a cousin.." he lied smoothly.

His twin was trying a new tactic. Fred was on tenterhooks, his heart thudding with anticipation as to what might be the end result of the big lie he just fabricated expertly.

"But the report states it had been with an immediate relation!" Madam Pomfrey said with vehemence.

"I have no idea why the report states so," George said, unruffled, "I had a casual fling with my cousin; maybe that was why this happened."

"He is lying of course!" Madam Pomfrey said loudly, "Then why didn't you mention this when I questioned you in my office?!" she asked, seething.

"Well, he would have if you had given him the opportunity to speak!" Fred spat, "But you were hell-bent on hurling accusations at him!"

"Fredrick, Poppy, please calm down," Dumbledore entreated, "Now, George," he gave him that penetrating, X-raying stare, "Are you sure you're speaking the truth?"

"Yes," he said, unflinchingly staring back at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore regarded him silently for a few seconds, until George averted his gaze and stared at a non-existent speck of dust on the table.

"Fredrick," he swept his gaze to Fred, "were you aware of the fact that your twin was in a relationship with this cousin of yours?"

_Say yes, baby..say yes say yes..._George's sweet voice echoed inside his head. A flurry of thoughts about how they were connected in every way: mentally, physically, even by their wand-cores, whirled inside his head as he marvelled ephemerally at their strong telepathic connection when under extremely intense situations.

"Yes," he nodded, pokerfaced.

Dumbledore kept looking into his eyes serenely. He thought he felt a faint prickling feeling on his forehead. But the next moment, it was gone.

Dumbledore turned his gaze to George, and asked, "And may I know who this cousin is? Please forgive me if I'm sounding rude, and of course, you can answer only if you're comfortable with revealing your cousin's identity,"

"No, sorry, sir" George said directly, "I cannot answer that question because I'm indeed not comfortable with revealing my cousin's identity." Fred was thankful that his love sounded really cool and collected as he subtly refused to answer the Headmaster.

"Can you at least reveal if this cousin was closely related or more distant?" he asked patiently, and it struck Fred how very sagacious and elderly he looked with that flowing white beard and hair, those half-moon spectacles perched on his long, crooked nose, and those wrinkles at the edges of his eyes.

"Second cousin." George replied at once.

"He is lying!" Madam Pomfrey insisted passionately, "The report clearly-"

"Poppy, How many times did you repeat the test?" he asked her without waiting to hear her constant assertions.

"Three times, and that is quite a lot considering the complex and time-consuming nature of this test,"

"Can you rule out the possibility that the result might have been erroneous in all the three attempts?"

Madam Pomfrey appeared to be a tad offended at this question, "Of course not, Albus! Are you questioning my expertise?"

"Most certainly not, Poppy. Please forgive me for sounding rude. But I have to confirm it, considering the claims of Fredrick and George here. You are familiar with Aleck's verification spell, I daresay?" he asked her.

"Yes, of course," it looked as though she was slowly grasping what Dumbledore meant, "Are you thinking of checking the accuracy of the spell cast by me?"

"Quite," he nodded slightly, "That is the only way I see to settle this dispute," he said as he took out his wand.

Fred's heart was pounding with trepidation. They were surely going to be dead now. There was no way they could escape now.

_Fuck..._

"Please place your wand on the table, Poppy," he said, and Madam Pomfrey complied, placing her wand on the table a little away from her, "The final spell you cast for the test after the usual Latin incantations was- ?"

"Revelo cantis.."

"Ah, yes..hmm.. accelis revelo cantis," he muttered and flicked his wand once, and Madam Pomfrey's wand let out a small _click_, trembled slightly, and released a bit of silvery smoke.

Then, Dumbledore lightly flicked his wand again, and cast a non-verbal spell.

A golden jet of light burst forth the tip of Dumbledore's wand and connected with the tip of Madam Pomfrey's wand, and immediately after that, a series of short, neon green bands of light rose from her wand tip one by one, and arranged themselves midair one below the other. The last short band of light that rose from her wand tip and joined the bottom of the vertically arranged green bands was fiery red, though.

"Hmm," Dumbledore hummed, his expression reflective, while Madam Pomfrey looked simply bewildered.

"But- how, but I.." she fumbled for words, "How can it be wrong?" she whispered, looking extremely embarrassed and hurt.

"Well, but as you can see, Poppy, the verification spell clearly shows that is the case," Dumbledore said quietly.

_WRONG?! WRONG? YES YES YES YES!_

Fred didn't know how to describe the feelings he was going through at that moment.

He caught his love's eyes, and saw that his pale blue eyes were dancing, bright with glee, though his face remained deceptively expressionless.

Fred's insides were screaming with joy. He felt a giddy euphoria washing over him. It was taking his best efforts to not jump up, punch the air, give a whoop of joy, and hug his Georgie.

Dumbledore heaved a small sigh, as though letting out a breath he'd been holding, "What was the last scrutiny of the report, Poppy?" he asked softly.

Madam Pomfrey seemed shamefaced as she replied in a voice much softer than what she had been using just moments ago, "The cause for his condition,"

"Hm, yes..so I suppose you know what this green-and-red-bands display means?"

"Yes, the green bands indicate the correct results in the report, while the red bands indicate the wrong ones.."

"Precisely," Dumbledore said, smiling kindly at her, then turned to Fred and George, who were determinedly wearing identical, neutral expressions, "Are you getting the gist of what we're discussing, Fredrick? George?"

"Yeah," Fred nodded, struggling not to grin maniacally and maintain a sophisticated air about him, "Yeah..that the last thing mentioned in the report was incorrect...that what we're saying is true..that my twin was unjustifiably accused of having relationship with an immediate family member when all he did was have a temporary relationship with a second cousin.."

And Dumbledore let himself chuckle softly, "Exactly," he said, smiling genially, "That was tying up the entire discussion succinctly, Fredrick. I presume the dispute is now settled?" he smiled pleasantly at the three of them.

Madam Pomfrey simply mumbled something, her eyes trained on the floor as she got up, while Fred and George said smiled brightly as they got to their feet saying their thanks and goodnights, then turned and left the Headmaster's office, their hearts so light that it might have been simply floating without any support inside their chests.

* * *

"Oh Merlin.." George breathed against Fred's lips, nervous yet joyful soft laughter shaking his body as he stood pressed close to him in their secret room that night, his fingers sinking into his shoulders, "That was such a close shave, Freddie.." he murmured, before crashing his mouth to his, frantically pulling him as close as physically possible.

They kissed with a mad, wild passion, terrified by how close they were to falling into a deep abyss, overjoyed at how they were saved at the last moment, when their feet were inches away from the edge, about to slip and plummet down...

They broke away, gasping hard, and Fred rested his forehead against George's, "But..what d'you reckon might've happened, Georgie.." he wondered quietly after a few moments, "Why did Dumbledore's spell reveal it as wrong when it was damn right..?"

"Ah, I don't care about that..." George slowly let his hands slide down his arms and twined them with his, "Whatever that might've been, that was what saved us.." he led Fred to their bed, facing Fred as he walked backwards, "And I'm glad that it happened.." he pulled Fred close toward him, their bodies slamming hard, and they tumbled down onto their bed, "So let's not worry about how that happened..." George whispered, eyes glowing with fear and love and relief...and lust...

"That was fate standing by us..." Fred breathed as he kissed his neck greedily, "supporting our beautiful love..."

* * *

Lee had been teasing George with 'my level's-too-low' ("You're talking about yourself.." Fred always hit back) as a parody of levensviata and 'exotic-toxic-blooded-doxie' ("That's not even funny, dickhead" Fred rubbished him) since the moment he learnt about the _levensviata _magic in George that evening (they had, of course, told him half the truth: that it was there in him since his birth, and conveniently forgot to mention the other half).

They decided that it was better not to inform their parents about his condition now, since they were sure that their mum, unlike Lee, won't be satisfied with their explanation and would grill them, almost inhumanely, until she'd extract every piece of information from them.

"She won't mind using even the cruciatus on us to draw out the complete truth, Georgie.." Fred joked, but knew that that _actually can_ happen, considering the nature of their mum.

"Or adding a few tasty drops of veritaserum into our tea-cups one fine morning at the Burrow..." George suggested, chuckling.

They had been so caught up with their recent dramatic happenings that as always, they completely forgot about the fact that Fred had his next task coming. So when McGonagall held back Fred that Friday, he was actually woken up from his own little world and was reminded of the approaching third task like a whack on his head with a hammer.

"You are to go down to the Quidditch field tonight at nine o' clock, Weasley," she told him, "Mr. Bagman will be there to tell the champions about the third task."

So at half past eight, Fred gave George a secret kiss on his cheek when Lee wasn't looking and left him with Lee in their dorm and went downstairs. When he reached the common room, he saw Harry getting up from the couch where he was sitting between Ron and Hermione, and he hurried toward Fred, grinning. Fred grinned back at him.

"What d'you reckon its going to be..?" Harry asked, "Hermione's saying that Krum was going on about underground tunnels and finding some sort of treasure.."

"Well, that'd be a lot better than the second task, then.." Fred said, still shuddering at the memory of George's head resting limply on his shoulder, "If they'd repeat anything like that then I swear I'm going to chop up their you-know-whats and hide them in the said underground tunnels.." he said, and Harry burst out laughing.

They walked down the dark lawn to the Quidditch stadium, turned through a gap in the stands, and walked out onto the field.

"What the fucking hell have they done to it?" Fred said indignantly as he saw the sight before him.

The Quidditch field was no longer smooth and flat. Long, low walls were crisscrossing and twisting all over it in every direction.

"They're hedges!" Harry said, bending to examine the nearest one.

"Hello there!" called a cheery voice.

Fred knew who that was before even looking up from the hedges they were examining.

Stupid, idiotic prat Bagman.

They had abandoned their hopes of getting their gold back from the scumbag long, long ago.

Ludo Bagman was standing in the middle of the field with Krum and Fleur. Fred and Harry made their way toward them, climbing over the hedges. Fleur was beaming at Harry (and Fred too, _maybe because I'm Ron's brother...?_ he thought). Her attitude toward them had changed completely since Harry and Ron had saved her sister from the lake.

"Well, what d'you think?" Bagman said happily as they drew near, "Growing nicely, aren't they? A few more weeks and Hagrid'll have them twenty feet high. Dont worry," he added, grinning at the less-than-happy expressions on Fred's and Harry's faces, "You'll have your Quidditch field back to normal once the task is over! Now, I imagine you can guess what we're making here?"

"Maze," grunted Krum at once.

"That's right!" Bagman said, "A maze. The third task's really very straightforward. The Triwizard Cup will be placed at the centre of the maze. The first champion to touch it will receive full marks."

"We seemply 'ave to get through the maze?" Fleur asked.

"There will be obstacles," Bagman said happily, bouncing on the balls of his feet, "Hagrid is providing a number of creatures...then there'll be spells that must be broken..all that sort of thing, you know. Now, the champions who are leading on points will get a head start into the maze. So that means Mr. Weasley will be the first one to enter," he said without meeting Fred's eyes, then grinned at Harry, "Then Mr. Potter, followed by Mr. Krum, and finally Ms. Delacour. But you'll all be in with a fighting chance, depending on how well you get past the obstacles. Should be fun, eh?"

_Hmm..Hagrid's providing the obstacles..._Fred knew that it won't be much fun considering the kind of creatures that Hagrid considered 'gentle'. So the type he'd be providing for the task must meet the bare minimum standard of at least being 'mildly dangerous', and Hagrid's idea of mild was usually fifty foot tall spiders or dragons.

"Very well..if you haven't got any questions, we'll go back up to the castle, shall we, its a bit chilly..."

Bagman hurried in front of them as they wend their way out of the growing maze. Just then, Fred felt someone tapping him on the shoulder, and found that Harry too turned around just as he did, and they looked behind them to find Krum.

"Could I haff a vord with you two?" he asked in his guttural tone.

"Yeah," they both said together, slightly surprised.

"Vil you two walk vith me?"

"Okay.." they said, exchanging intrigued looks.

Fred, Krum and Harry left the stadium together, but Krum did not set a course for the Durmstrang ship. Instead, he walked toward the forest.

"What're we going this way for?" Fred asked as they passed Hagrid's cabin and the illuminated Beauxbatons carriage.

"Dont vant to be overheard." Krum said shortly.

"Overheard of what?" Harry asked.

"You vil know."

When at last they reached a quiet stretch of ground a short way from the Beauxbatons horses' paddock, Krum stopped in the shade of trees and turned to face Fred and Harry.

"I vant to know," he said, glowering, "vot is there among the three of you: Herm-own-ninny, and you two?"

Fred, who from Krum's secretive manner had expected something much more serious than this, started laughing.

"You acted so covert and deceivingly charming to ask _this?!_" Fred asked, laughing, "I thought we were definitely going to be introduced to some interesting gay vampires..."

"This situation is not funny to me, Veasley," Krum said in a quiet tone, "Do not think you can voo Herm-own-ninny vith your funny charms,"

Fred snorted at his jealousy, "She's like a sister to me, Krum," he grinned reassuringly.

"And she's just a friend of mine..she's not my girlfriend and she never has been. It's just that Skeeter woman making things up," Harry said.

"One load of dragon dung, that article was," Fred seconded him, "Me and my twin were just joking that day, Krum..that's a weakness of ours..pestering people...but never thought it'd have a consequence like this,"

"Herm-own-ninny talks often about you two..more about you, Potter, and sometimes she says Ron, then talks about you, Veasley.." Krum said, looking suspiciously at them.

Fred rolled his eyes, "That's because Harry's her friend and I'm her friend's brother," he restrained from adding 'dungbrains' at the last moment. Harry nodded in agreement, "Yeah...we're simply _friends_.." he insisted earnestly.

Krum considered what they said, looking solemn. Fred was amused to find himself talking about a girl, that too Hermione, with Krum of all people. A year ago, he wouldn't have thought this could happen to him one day: talk with a famous Quidditch player convincing him he's not involved with _Hermione_, Merlin, Hermione...about whom he'd never have thought of as more than a friend even if he was straight. Then again, a lot of unexpected things happened to him since a year ago...

Like getting engaged to his twin...

Who would've thought...

"You haff not- you haff never.." Krum's guttural voice brought him back to earth.

"No," they both said firmly.

Krum looked slightly happier. He stared at them for a few seconds, then said, "Your spells are very brilliant, Veasley. That day of first task, you did some very nice spells,"

Fred grinned broadly, "Ah, thanks," he said sincerely, "And you are a great flier...that Wronsky feint of yours in the World Cup would make anyone faint with awe...We placed a bet too, you know, on you.." Krum looked at him with interest now, and Fred grinned, "That you'd get the snitch.." (he conveniently dropped the part of 'Ireland will win') "so you can see how sure we are of your capabilities.."

Krum looked much pleasant now, "That vos very nice of you to say like that Veasley," he looked at Harry now, "And you fly very veil. I vos votching at-"

But something moved behind Krum in the trees.

Fred, who knew of such things in the forest after years of wandering in there at nights with his twin, instinctively grabbed Krum's and Harry's arms and pulled them around.

"Vot is it?"

Fred frowned slightly, while Harry shook his head, and they both slipped their hands inside their robes, reaching for their wands, staring at the dark clump of thickets and trees where he had seen the movement.

Suddenly, a man staggered out from behind a tall oak. For a moment, Fred didn't recognize him...then he realized it was Mr. Crouch.

He looked as though he had been travelling for days. His cloths were ripped, and revealed his knobbly knees, which were bloody and bruised, his face as scratched; he was unshaven and gray with exhaustion. His usually neat hair and moustache were both in need of a wash and trim.

His strange appearance was nothing to the way he was behaving. Muttering and gesticulating, he appeared to be talking to someone he alone could see.

"Vosn't he a judge?" Krum asked, staring at Mr. Crouch, "Isn't he with your Ministry?"

Fred and Harry nodded. Fred hesitated for a few moments, before slowly walking up toward Mr. Crouch, Harry closely following him.

Mr. Crouch wasnt paying any attention to them and was wildly muttering to a nearby tree, "...and when you've done that, Weatherby, send an owl to Dumbledore confirming the number of Durmstrang students attending the tournament, Karkaroff has just sent word that there'll be twelve..."

"Mr. Crouch?" Fred asked cautiously.

"...and then send another owl to Madam Maxime, because she might want to up the number of students she's bringing, now Karkaroff made it round a dozen...do that Weatherby, will you? Will you? Will..."

Mr. Crouch's eyes were bulging. He stood staring at the tree, muttering soundlessly at it. Then he staggered sideways and fell into his knees.

"Mr. Crouch!" Fred and Harry said loudly, "Are you alright?" Fred asked.

Crouch's eyes were rolling back into his head. Fred looked around to find Krum, who had followed them into the trees, looking down at Crouch in alarm.

"Vot is wrong with him?"

"No idea," Fred muttered, "Listen, Harry, you'd better go and get someone while Krum and I'll wait -"

"Dumbledore!" gasped Mr. Crouch. He reached out and grabbed Harry's robes, dragging him closer, "I...need...see...Dumbledore..."

"Okay," Harry said, "if you get up, Mr. Crouch, we can go up to the-"

"I've...done...stupid...thing..." breathed Crouch. He looked utterly mad now, his eyes bulging and rolling and a trickle of spit sliding down his chin, "Must...tell...Dumbledore..."

"Get up, Mr. Crouch," Fred said loudly and clearly, "We'll take you to Dumbledore,"

"Who...you..." Crouch gasped.

"We're students at the school," Fred said, and looked around at Krum. But he was hanging back, looking nervous.

"You're...not..._his._.?" Crouch whispered, his mouth sagging.

"No," Fred said, without the faintest idea of what Crouch was talking about.

"Dumbledore's..?"

"That's right," Fred said, 'Listen, Harry, get out of his clutches and go get someone...this seems to be a severe case of lunacy...who knows if he'd act violent or not..."

Harry nodded.

"Warn...Dumbledore...Bertha dead...my fault...Dark...Lord...stronger...my son...all my..fault...tell Dumbledore...Harry...Potter..." Crouch gasped.

"I'll get Dumbledore if you let go of me," Harry said, "Just let go, Mr. Crouch, and I'll get him,"

"Thank you, Weatherby, and when you've done that, I would like a cup of tea. My wife and son will be arriving shortly, we are attending a concert tonight with Mr. And Mrs. Fudge.." he was talking fluently to the tree again, and had released Harry in between his rambling, who immediately jumped up, "You stay here with him, then," Harry said urgently to Fred and Krum (who seemed a bit apprehensive at the thought) and sprinted away, leaving them both with a loopy Crouch in the dark forest.

"He is mad," Krum said, staring doubtfully at Crouch.

"'Course he is," Fred said, then muttered, 'I'd known this would happen one day to poor Barty...after all, Weatherby's his personal assistant...I'm surprised he survived this long...he should've gone barmy ages ago.."

"Who's Veatherby...?" Krum asked curiously.

"Ah just someone I know distantly. Madder than Mr. Crouch here, Weatherby is..." Fred said seriously.

"Boy...come...here..." Crouch wheezed, "...D-Dark L-Lord...hnnn...s-s-strooong..." he flailed his arms desperately, "C-Come...here...boy...tell...Dumbled...hnnn..."

Fred moved doubtfully toward Crouch, "What's he going on about Dark Lord?"

Crouch grabbed Fred around his ankles and pulled his legs. Fred lost his balance and tumbled down next to Crouch, who caught him madly in a death-grip.

"What the fuck!" Fred started shoving Crouch away. His hands were trapped under Crouch's arms, and try as he might, he wasn't able to reach inside his robes and pull out his wand, "Krum! Help me!"

"Dont...leave...me!" Crouch whispered, his eyes bulging again, "I...escaped...must..warn...must tell...see...Dumbledore...my fault...all my fault...Bertha dead...all my fault...my son...my fault...tell Dumbledore...Harry Potter..." Crouch was squeezing him around his arms as he held him tight.

"Barmy- I mean, bloody hell, Barty Crouch...leave me...God you're.." Crouch was hugging him tighter than George, "Krum! Help me, will you!" he yelled desperately, and turned around with difficulty to see Krum standing with a very nervous expression.

"Bloody hell! Krum! Don't just stand there like a dork and fucking help me!" Fred yelled while pushing against Crouch with all his might.

"Er.." Krum moved toward them uncertainly and started prising Crouch's hands away from Fred, but the movement only made his grip on Fred tighter.

"Fuck! Let go of me, Barmy!" Fred yelled, "Are you not a wizard, Krum?! Just cast a fucking spell!"

"Relashio!" Krum yelled the next moment.

And Crouch was thrown away from Fred, who straightened up hastily, breathing hard, "Merlin...he's totally cracked!" Fred stared, agape, at Crouch, who was once again gabbling to the nearby tree as though nothing happened, "Yes, my son has recently gained twelve OWLs, most satisfactory, yes, thank you, yes, very proud indeed. Now, if you could bring me that memorandum from the Andorran Minister of Magic, I think I will have time to draft a response..."

"Raving mad..." Fred breathed. Krum was standing before Crouch, his back turned to Crouch as he stood looking at Fred, "Are you veil?" he asked considerately.

"Yeah," Fred let out a huge breath as he grinned, "Thanks..Oh I hope someone'd be here soon..he's too unhinged..might even- Krum!"

But it was too late. Just as Fred lunged to pull Krum away from the blast of light from Crouch's wand, it hit Krum right on his back, and he fell on Fred with a blank expression, making Fred stagger back with his sheer weight.

"S-s-son...m-my s-s-son...h-he's...no..oh no..." Crouch was gasping with a horrified expression as he clutched his wand loosely in his slack hand.

_Please let someone be here soon..._Fred prayed as he stared, wide-eyed, at an utterly deranged Crouch.

Fred laid down Krum's limp body on the ground, staring alertly at Crouch. He felt Krum's pulse on his wrist, and found that it was all normal. Fred straightened up, and immediately took out his wand and stood ready to protect himself should Crouch attack him the next. But Crouch was once again rapidly babbling nonsense to the tree.

Just then, he heard a dull thumping noise behind him, and turned around to find Moody hobbling toward them, his expression slightly maniacal.

* * *

**The reason why Dumbledore's spell showed the last scrutiny as wrong in spite of it being right will be explained in a later chapter! :D**

**Please review! :D**


	44. Chapter 44

Fred was relieved to see someone finally approaching, "Professor, Crouch's out of his mind," he said immediately, pointing at Crouch, who was gabbling to the tree, "He attacked Krum," he pointed at Krum lying at his feet, "He's going on about unconnected things..he says he wants to warn Dumbledore of something..then he mentioned his son – "

Fred looked at Moody's face and broke off, unsettled and surprised to find that he was grinning rather insanely as he heard this, instead of appearing sober and taking control of the situation.

_Why is everyone round the bend this evening..?_

"Weasley..." he drawled softly, chuckling, his rough, clawed face looking harsh, both his eyes fixed unkindly on him, "Are you as innocent as you seem to be...?

"What?" Fred creased his brows, puzzled by this totally unrelated question.

"Have you forgotten what I had said a few months ago? Something about your...mentality?" he smirked horribly.

Fred's extremities were going cold. He had a sure feeling that this conversation wasn't going to be pleasant. He simply stared at Moody, waiting for him to speak more clearly.

"Ah, sure you must be remembering. I was very clear when I said your mentality is...filthy.."

"I'm sorry I don't get you," Fred said coolly, though his insides were shivering with horror.

"Hmm, maybe you'll understand it more clearly when you'll be shown a...visual..." he chuckled softly as he reached in his robes and pulled out...

A photograph...

He thrust it into Fred's hand.

Fred felt the ground below him splitting open and his insides lurched as though he just slipped into the deep chasm as he stared at the photograph held in his trembling hand.

He and George, clad in rumpled, identical, deep navy dress-robes, were entwined tenderly as they sat on a hard, stone floor, kissing with a raw, beautiful passion, their fingers hidden in their tousled red hair. He remembered that kiss vividly...

The tears that mingled with his when George moaned in grief against his mouth...he relived that beautifully sad moment as he stared at the pale hand that slipped down his head to clutch at the nape of his neck.

And he remembered that he was sobbing into his love's mouth, his lips were trembling against his, when he saw himself massaging his love's head as he kissed him lovingly.

"Ring any bells?" Moody's harsh, mocking tone brought him back to the horrifying present, "That is your twin, I suppose, that you're kissing so amorously?" he leered.

Fred wasn't able to produce a single sound.

This is the end...there couldn't be anything worse than this...

Fred did the sanest thing he could think of the next...

Without any warning, he hastily tore up the photo to tiny shreds and dropped them to the ground.

Moody was laughing raucously now, "Idiot boy...you think I did not anticipate that?! I have many more of those...beautifully earth-shattering pictures with me.." he smirked maliciously, "Now, I have little time left to finish some...important matter...before I deal with you.." he whispered, a manic glint in his normal eye while his magical eye swivelled around in every direction rather disgustingly.

He limped forward past Fred, who stood looking at Moody, his head reeling and his chest paining with terror, and wasn't prepared for the next shock his heart was about to receive...

_"Avada Kedavra!"_ Moody yelled without any warning, and a blinding green jet of light, which illuminated the surrounding thickets and trees with an eerie glow, burst forth his wand and hit an innocently babbling Crouch, who fell limp to the ground sideways, his eyes still staring blankly at the tree he had been talking to.

"NOO!" Fred yelled, shocked. The man who was jabbering and holding him just moments ago now lay motionless, dead.

Moody's body was shaking with silent laughter as he stood staring with a demented, gleeful expression at the dead body of Crouch.

"Now," he growled, whirling around to face Fred, his lips twisting into a frightening, inhuman smirk, "Weasley boy..." he whispered as he drew near, his normal eye bulging threateningly, "I could've killed him covertly, but why to act covert when I have such a powerful weapon in my hand, pretty boy," he was now nose to nose with Fred, his demeanour and his face so terrifying that Fred couldn't believe he was still standing quite steady without screaming his lungs out or passing out with sheer terror, "Pictures of you and your identical pretty lover engaged in what everyone considers to be the ultimate sin...incest..." he chuckled quietly, his appearance more frightening than that of a deeply burnt person, "Not to mention...homosexual incest..." he drew back slightly, and gave him an almost lewd grin, "Is this a family thing? Incesting? Maybe that is why you Weasleys produce a herd of children...to enjoy with-"

"Cut it out!" Fred snarled, breathing hard.

"Ah," Moody clicked his tongue, "That hurt, didn't it...that tells this beautiful, rare love is just between the two of you..."

Moody stared at him for a few moments before saying, "You don't have to worry, Weasley...you don't have to worry about this going public if you do me a very small favour..." he looked at Fred shrewdly, awaiting his response.

"What favour?" Fred whispered, heart thudding. Moody seemed more than capable of killing him this moment if he wished to...

Moody's normal eye glowed with an abnormal glee, and his magical eye was rotating frantically inside his eye-socket, "I want you to make the path clear for Potter in the last task, Weasley. I want you to attack the fellow contenders, Krum and Delacour, attack in the sense stun them completely, or hurt them badly...or whatever...whatever you do, you must not let them reach the Triwizard Cup before Potter does...I want you to guide Potter to the cup, help him in every step, though I'm sure that you will do that even without me threatening you to, but still...I'm asking you to do it..help Potter in every way to reach the Cup, ensure that he touches it...ensure that Hogwarts wins..."

Fred couldn't believe that Moody was going to _such_ extremes to ensure Hogwarts' victory in the Tournament that he took the pains to take pictures of him and his twin in intimate situations, Merlin knows how the blazes he did it, and was threatening him with the exposure of his relationship with his twin and making him attack fellow competitors.

Fred felt that there was something really dodgy about it...

"And of course, not revealing that I was the one who killed Barty...do this much for me and your secret is safe with me, Weasley...be assured of that..." both of his eyes were trained on him, expecting his answer.

"How can I be sure that you won't reveal it even after I do as you say?" Fred asked immediately, breathing fast with dread.

Moody chuckled with dry humour, "I won't gain anything by revealing your secret after you do as I say, Weasley...I am bothered only and only by you fulfilling my demands..and if you do that perfectly," a possessed glee crossed his features when he said that, "then I no longer will have the need to bother about what you do with your twin, or anyone for that matter.."

Fred stood weighing his options frantically. If he did as he was told, his secret will remain safe...but if he failed...

As if on cue, Moody said with a malignant sneer, "But if you fail, Weasley, fail to fulfil even _one_ of my demands, you'll wish you were never born...these beautiful pictures will be exhibited to the whole of Hogwarts assembled for the last task...magically enlarged and displayed midair.." he laughed with cruel humour, "And if anyone is informed of this little demand of mine before the task then the same exhibition will take place in the Great Hall in front of everyone.."

Fred felt as though buckets of cold water were poured on him as he simply visualized that happening.

And if he failed...it _will_ happen...

Winning the Tournament wasn't now simply for the galleons, or name or fame...or fun..as it was meant to be when they had entered their names for the tournament last year...

Winning the last task with Harry was a matter of life and death now...

His and his love's pride depended entirely on it...

_We'll be publicly humiliated if I fail..._

Moody had him trapped...completely...

"I agree," he said in a voice that was not his own...it sounded detached and cold..as he stood staring at Moody with an expressionless face.

"Good," Moody smirked, "and now, we wait for Potter and Dumbledore to come...but before that – " he turned and flicked his wand once in the direction of Crouch, and Fred saw his body transfiguring into a bone. Moody gave a harsh chuckle as he limped toward the bone lying on the ground where Crouch lay seconds ago, bent, grabbed the bone, slipped it into his robes and walked back toward Fred.

"You will not show the faintest hint that I was here, d'you understand?" he said harshly, "I'll double back and return a few minutes after they arrive.." and he turned and limped away with a rhythmic, dull thump as his wooden foot connected with the ground littered with twigs and leaves.

Fred was left shivering, frightened by Moody's pitiless intimidation...the consequences should he fail...

Stunned at the unprovoked murder of Crouch...

Why the bloody hell did he kill Crouch...Fred shivered as the blinding green light he saw moments ago flashed across his mind again...

What the fucking hell was his real intention behind forcing him to attack the other two champions and ensure Hogwarts' victory...

Did he place some huge bet on it...?

Cold fury mixed with absolute dread slowly rose in him for Moody...

The man, who Fred thought to be gruff-talking, yet kind, was actually a man with two faces...

He was manipulative, controlling and cold-hearted..

And standing there in the forest, a greyish darkness pressing around him, with Krum lying unconscious at his feet, he wanted to hold on to his Georgie and feel his warmth more than anything in his life...

He missed his presence badly...

He was scared...

His breath was coming out in laboured puffs as he stood there with his heart knocking hard against his chest...

_If I fail..._

_Then you and Georgie won't ever be able to show your faces to the living world..._

He fell into his knees onto the ground, staring at Krum's arm without seeing a thing, trying to slow down his breath...

Just then, he heard rapid footsteps behind him, and turned around to find Harry hurrying toward them with a gracefully striding Dumbledore, his long robes billowing and his waist length white hair and beard sparkling here and there as dappled moonlight fell over him.

Fred started to frantically cook up some lie to tell them about Crouch's disappearance as he turned back to Krum and held his wrist as though checking for his pulse, hastily arranging his wildly panicked expression to that of mildly distressed.

"He was attacked by Crouch," Fred said urgently to them as soon as they were beside him, "and he escaped after aiming a stone right to my stomach," his voice sounded appropriately harried.

Dumbledore and Harry looked genuinely worried; they believed what he said right away, and Fred fervently thanked the gods he did not believe in.

They crouched beside him, looking down at Krum. Dumbledore gently lifted one of Krum's eyelids.

"Stunned," he said softly, then turned to Fred, "Are you all right, Fredrick? You look pale...is your stomach hurting too badly?"

"No, its fine..I'm alright.." he nodded sincerely. He saw Dumbledore raise his wand and cast a patronus of a silvery bird, which streaked away through the trees.

Fred began talking rapidly so that he wouldn't lose his grit and break down, "Crouch's behaviour was the most bizarre after you left, Harry..he grabbed me and held me tight, babbling utter nonsense, he was going on about warning you of something, sir, he wasn't relinquishing his grip on me until Krum cast a spell on him..then he attacked Krum when his back was turned to him before I could do anything about it, and then he started babbling to a tree, then aimed a stone to my stomach without any warning..and as I lay unable to do nothing more than clutch my stomach, he crawled away.." he finished off frenetically, trying hard not to crack under the extreme strain and reveal anything about the horrendous things that happened moments ago.

He was so absorbed in his rambling that he did not notice Dumbledore renervating Krum, until he heard Krum's throaty mutter, "He attacked me!"

Dumbledore looked kindly at Fred, "Do not be nervous, Fredrick, it is all right..we shall find him.." He then turned to Krum who was muttering hysterically, "The old madman attacked me! I vos looking at Veasley asking if he was veil and he attacked from behind!"

"Lie still for a moment," Dumbledore told Krum.

The sound of thunderous footfalls reached them, and Hagrid came panting into sight with Fang at his heels. He was carrying his crossbow.

"Professor Dumbledore! Harry, what the – "

"Hagrid, I need you to fetch Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore said, "his student has been attacked. When you've done that, kindly alert Professor Moody – "

"No need, Dumbledore," said a wheezy growl of the man who had whispered threats into his face not moments ago, and Fred watched him with fear and loathing as he limped toward them, leaning on his staff and his wand lit, play-acting extremely well, "I'm here...Damn leg.." he muttered furiously, "Would've been here quicker...what's happened? Snape said something about Crouch – "

Fred marvelled at the way he was faking smoothly. He...the bastard...he killed him unfeelingly just minutes ago for no apparent reason...the manic gleam in his eyes as he limped forward to Crouch...raised his wand..and..

"Crouch?" Hagrid said blankly.

"Karkaroff, please, Hagrid!" Dumbledore said sharply.

"Oh yeah..right y'are, Professor," Hagrid said and disappeared into the dark trees, Fang trotting after him.

"I don't know where Barty Crouch is," Dumbledore told Moody (_Inside his pocket.._Fred thought wryly), "but it is essential that we find him."

"I'm onto it," the mendacious bastard growled, and he pulled out his wand and limped off into the forest.

They did not speak until they heard the unmistakable sounds of Hagrid and Fang returning. Karkaroff was hurrying along behind them, wearing his sleek silver furs and looking pale and agitated.

"What is this?" he cried when he saw Krum on the ground and Fred, Dumbledore and Harry beside him, "What's going on?"

"I vos attacked!" Krum said, sitting up now and rubbing his arm absently, "Mr. Crouch or votever his name – "

"Crouch attacked you? _Crouch_ attacked you? The Triwizard judge?"

"Igor," Dumbledore began, but Karkaroff had drawn himself up, clutching his furs around him, looking livid.

"Treachery!" he bellowed, pointing at Dumbledore, "It is a plot! You and your Ministry of Magic have lured me here under false pretences, Dumbledore! This is not an equal competition! First, you allow Weasley to compete even though he entered by cheating! Then you sneak Potter into the tournament! Both are underage! Two competitors for Hogwarts! And now one of your Ministry friends attempts to put _my_ champion out of action! This is insane! I smell double dealing and corruption in this whole affair! And you, Dumbledore, with your talk of closer international wizard links, of rebuilding old ties, of forgetting old differences – here is what I think of _you_!"

Karkaroff spat onto the ground at Dumbledore's feet. In one swift movement, Hagrid seized the front of Karkaroff's furs, lifted him into the air, and slammed him against a nearby tree.

"Apologize!" Hagrid snarled as Karkaroff gasped for breath. Hagrid's massive fist at his throat, his feet dangling midair.

"Hagrid, _no!_" Dumbledore shouted, his eyes flashing.

Hagrid removed the hand pinning Karkaroff to the tree, and Karkaroff slid all the way down and slumped in a huddle at its roots, a few twigs and leaves showered upon his head.

"Kindly escort Fredrick and Harry back up to the castle, Hagrid," Dumbledore said sharply.

* * *

Fred burst into his dorm, and saw George huddled with Lee at their desk, chuckling softly at some joke as they sat adding a blue potion into some puking pastilles littered over the desk in front of them.

Without bothering to say a word to Lee and give an explanation for his actions, he strode up to George, who turned and smiled brightly at Fred and opened his mouth to say something, grabbed his arm, pulled him up, and dragged him out of their dorm, his jaws set and face impassive.

"Freddie! What's wrong...? Where are we – "

"To our room, baby. I'll tell you everything in there, love..." he whispered as they thundered down the spiral stairs, the common room quite empty with only a few students hanging about.

When they reached the seventh floor and the familiar polished door appeared, Fred pushed it open hard, pulled George in by his arm, whirled him around and banged him against the wall.

"Hnh..Fred – "

He crushed his mouth to his without another word, pressing himself hard against him.

How he ached for this sweetness of his mouth...the feel of his heartbeats against his...his soft lips..his hands on his shoulders...

His warmth was the comfort for his frantically beating heart...

His intoxicating scent relieved his mental strain..

Fred let himself get soaked in the pleasurable heat and the familiar sweet scent...pouring out the acute stress he was subjected to...letting himself get lost in the feel of his soft hands caressing his neck..feel of his tongue softly gliding against his...

"Oh..Georgie.." he whispered after they broke away, and George was instantly alarmed by the look on his face.

"What's it, love..?" he asked, a mildly curious, anxious look on his beautiful, freckled face as he stared into Fred's eyes.

"Moody...he's- he's...oh George..."

And Fred stripped off all pretences before the only one person he lets his guard down, and broke into tears.

* * *

**Please review! Its the third task in the next chp, guys...**


	45. Chapter 45

_...Keep driving, drive until we reach the end,_

_Now's the last time, until we crash this car,_

_And I still hoped and prayed,_

_With blood in my blackened heart,_

_Keep driving until we hit this tree..._

_ (Bleed in Black and White – Motionless in White)_

**...**

* * *

George sat gazing into his eyes, his face white as a sheet, his blue eyes alight with fear, yet he had Fred's trembling hands in his warm ones, pressing them lightly like he always does in an effort to comfort him.

"Freddie..." he whispered finally after the silence which followed Fred's sobbing and gasping account of what happened that evening, "let's not worry about how Moody managed to hobble up to the Astronomy tower that night with that fucking wooden leg of his and took our pictures...our priority right now must be winning the last task, baby.." he said softly, and Fred knew it very well that he was hiding his extreme fear to strengthen Fred's spirits..he was being his saviour...his beautiful angel...

_My angel..._

"I trust your abilities, Freddie.." he inched closer and looked into his eyes, while his long fingers softly caressed his cheek, "And besides," a small smile graced his pale, sculpted lips, "we always get what we wish for somehow, don't we?"

Soft sobs escaped Fred's lips as he said, "Oh you m-mental, s-strange creature...I can't believe you're being strong i-in spite of being such a g-gentle – "

His next word was captured by George's mouth as it closed over his. He slipped his arms around his waist and pulled him closer to his chest. A palm slowly made its way to Fred's neck, lightly touching there, relieving Fred's anxiety as he lost himself to George's feel and the rhythm of his gentle rocking...

"I'm so scared, Georgie..." he breathed into his lips.

"You have no need to be scared," he drew back an inch and looked deep into his eyes, "we were the ones leading the points in the last two tasks and I'm sure we'll be the ones this time too," his love encouraged him.

But his love's outer demeanour deceived his inner state of mind.

George _screamed_ in the nights; his nightmares turned wilder..he thrashed his body against Fred's, roaring out his name, grabbing fistfuls of his hair...gasping...sweating...

Moody's remorseless killing of Crouch scared him...his cruel intimidation made his heart pound faster against Fred's in fear and premonition.

Fred was a moron to give him a vivid account of the incident. He did not anticipate this happening as he sobbed out the shocking turn of events in his wild fear and anxiety and anguish...

It was sick...it was the most ill-fated...

They had always evaded harsh punishments for their rule-breakings, starting with petty pranks and swindling to something as huge as fucking each other (not that they considered the latter as a rule-breaking in their beautiful world)

But this time, they simply couldn't see a way out of the trap they were in...

They had just miraculously escaped from getting discovered by Dumbledore, only to find that they were spotted ages ago by Moody, who they hitherto thought was an eccentric, yet benevolent individual, only to be rudely shaken from that belief and learn that he was a disingenuous, two-faced, frightful, psychopathic bastard...

And that he had them cornered, and was using Fred for his Merlin-knows-what purpose..

Fred proposed his theory that Moody might've placed some huge bet on Hogwarts winning the Tournament, and maybe was ensuring that by cruelly using Fred..and George agreed that that might be the case...

"But that still doesn't explain why he killed Crouch, Freddie.."

"He's a fucking, treacherous, raving psychopath, isn't he? Kept our secret hidden until now, waiting for the right moment to strike and use us, didn't he? He's mad...utterly mad...might've killed him for the sheer pleasure of it for all I know.."

The nights were spent making love with a wild, frantic passion, trying to forget the impending doom should he fail in the last task, trying to forget the cruel world outside their little paradise as they lost themselves in the feel of their heated, damp flesh, their mingled scents, their merging screams...then rapidly falling asleep in each other's arms as their tired bodies relaxed, only to be awoken by screams not of wild passion..but sheer terror as George screamed his lungs out...

The days were spent intently practising one jinx after another, one stunning spell after another, one hex after another...

They skipped their classes to practise in abandoned classrooms or their secret room (whenever Lee did not accompany them. They found that their room changed into an empty, spacious, rectangular, stone-floored room with huge windows, with only a wooden bench near the window and a table at the far end of the room when they needed it for the purpose of practising).

George had prepared a list of useful spells for him to practise from a book they found in their secret room, and the list had the spells: _Bombarda, bombarda maxima, everte statum, four-point spell, impedimenta, protégo, protego horriblis, reducto, stupefy, _and strong hexes which caused extreme injury like _finger-removing hex, flesh-slashing hex, knee-reversal hex _among a few others.

Lee had accompanied them in the first few sessions, but then later they themselves told him not to worry seeing how he missed his classes in spite of having his exams coming.

"But George too has his exams coming..It's alright..I can stay.." he insisted, wanting to help Fred in the little ways he could by suggesting some spells to practise or reading out proper instructions if he spotted Fred doing a spell wrong. Another reason was he enjoyed skiving off classes.

"George and I aren't even sure of attending Hogwarts next year, you fucktard.." Fred spat at poor Lee. He let out his extreme tension these days by snapping rudely at everyone; hell, sometimes even at his lovely George...

"So you better not flunk the exams, Lee..cause we don't care if we do...we most probably will be starting our joke shop next year..." George added in a milder tone.

They did not care because they weren't sure they'd be able to continue their education after the last task..

Besides, they themselves did not want to because they wanted to get out of Hogwarts as soon as possible and start with their business...the sooner they became independent of their parents the better..

But by Merlin they'll try with all their might to stop getting publicly humiliated before dropping out.

So one evening when Lee said for the umpteenth time that they were practising 'too much', and asked why the hell they were practising like maniacs, Fred lost his cool and actually hexed him, making him grow black furs all over his skin, and wasn't even apologetic for it, and this time Lee, who rarely got angry, was finally snubbed by Fred's constantly snappy behaviour, and maintained a cold silence after that, in spite of George's apologies.

Extreme stress was making him more and more aggressive and emotionally unstable by the day.

He was pitilessly rude with George one moment..and extremely clingy the next...

And when his poor Georgie tried to calm in the night, he fucked him harder than ever.

He was rough, and utterly lewd with him...and George submitted without objection...

He moaned that he'd do anything to comfort Fred...

He urged him to be rough with him and relieve his stress...

A bright afternoon, three days before the last task, found them practising as usual in their secret room, the warm golden sunlight entering through the huge windows falling in large chunks on the stone-flagged floor.

George had his History of Magic exam that morning..and Fred was locked up in their secret room during those two hours..frantically looking up more hexes for the task...and when he returned after the exam, told (with no remorse or sorrow whatsoever, as though it was a normal thing) that he'd flunk it for sure...

They had received three warnings from McGonagall by now for missing her classes too much on the 'pretext' of practising...she thought they were taking advantage of Fred being a champion and skiving off classes for fun, thinking of their usual nature, but only Fred and George knew that they were dead serious this time.

"Impedimenta!" Fred yelled, his wand pointed at a croaking and jumping frog George had transfigured from a cardboard box, and finally, was able to hit the constantly moving frog accurately and arrest its frantic leaping.

"You're getting good at aiming spells at moving objects, love.." George said softly, "Lets try shield charm now.."

"I'm tired!" Fred yelled, glaring at George, "Making me toil 'cause you're scared shitless, aren't you, scared of getting revealed as a sickfuck in front of every fucking cunts..." he yelled nonsensically, "You just have to sit back, relax and watch from the stands, haven't you, while I struggle in that bleeding maze to save us from getting screwed openly!" Fred threw himself down onto the wooden bench, breathing hard.

George said nothing. His face was full of grief, his eyes moist and slightly glistening, as he made his way to him and sat down beside him.

"Freddie.." he whispered softly, and slowly snaked an arm around his waist, "Yell at me as much as you want..until you feel calmed..I don't-"

"_SHUT UP!_" Fred suddenly turned and glared into his eyes, "Will you stop acting so fucking sweet?! Its making me _sick! _I'm _sick_ of you! Sick of every fucking thing!" he was shaking uncontrollably, breathing hard against George's face.

"Freddie..my love..." George breathed, eyes swimming with tears as he reached a hand and softly caressed his cheek, "Calm down, baby...everything's going to be fine..if we get revealed, then so be it..I'm not ashamed..."

"But I'll be ashamed!" Fred slapped his hand away, "I'm not a fucking idiot like you! I'll be damn well ashamed if pictures of me snogging your head off are magnified and displayed midair in front of the whole of Hogwarts! Whole of Hogwarts! Does your fucking little brain process that bit of information?! Whole of Hogwarts!"

"I understand it, my love.." George whispered, tears falling down his eyes, "Calm down, my Freddie...I love you so much..." he cupped his face in his soft hands, leaned forward, and kissed him tenderly on his lips, his tears falling onto Fred's hot cheeks.

Fred grabbed him and pulled him close roughly, devouring his lips frantically. He broke down suddenly and cried wretchedly into his mouth, tears falling down uncontrollably, mingling with his love's.

His Georgie knew how to defeat him...

Fred pulled away suddenly, letting out a savage growl as he roughly grabbed his robes and pulled them off him, pulled away his tie, ripped off his shirt, not caring if his nails bruised his tender skin, and plunged at his neck, biting hard everywhere, his arms around him, holding him tight.

Fred was possessed now...his brain switched off everything else except one thing: George.

George gasped and moaned, his hands gripping Fred's shoulders, his body trembling against his as Fred relentlessly attacked his neck, his jaw, his shoulders...while recklessly unzipping his pants and slipping his fingers inside his boxers, feeling his smooth arse..

"Strip me," Fred whispered urgently into his ear, "Quick,"

George peeled his robes off him, took off his shirt hastily along with his loosened tie..then his hands moved down to his pants, unbuckling his belt, unzipping his pants..

"That'll do, baby" Fred grabbed his wrists and stopped him, "You wouldn't mind if I fuck your tight hole hard and bruise you, would you?" he said as he got up and placed his arms under George, who sat looking at him with only and only unbounded love in his eyes even as he talked so harshly with him...then picked him up, bridal style, and carried him over to the table, looking with lust-filled eyes into his beautiful, loving ones as he did so..

He set him down on his feet, and told him to lean down and rest his head on the table, "You like it rough, don't you, baby..." Fred gave a downward tug to his pants which was already hanging low and revealing the clear outline of his toned arse beneath the thin fabric of his white cotton boxers, and they slipped down and pooled at his feet.

"Step out of those," Fred murmured softly after he pulled his boxers down, which joined his pants on the floor, and George wordlessly obeyed, stepping out of them and nudging them away with a foot.

His fiancé was bent, stark naked, over the table, his beautiful red head resting on it; he could see a side of his gorgeous face...he had his eyes closed...he looked serene...

His smooth, fair back was laid exposed on the table, a scattering of nail-marks and light freckles on his shoulders..his creamy, pale arse bared to him..

"I'll give it rough to you," Fred breathed, hastily slipping down his own, low-hanging pants and pulling down his boxers, and kicked them away..

Without warning, without preparation, without fore-play, he gripped his waist and entered his beloved lover..

"AAAAAAAARRGGHHH!" George howled in absolute pain, he could see colour flooding the side of his face..his eye scrunched shut..his face contorted...his mouth open...his hands gripping the edge of the table...

"AAAHH..AAHHHH..AAAAH.." George screamed, cried, tears streaming down, as Fred slowly pulled back, breathing hard, heart thudding...

"AAAAAARGH AAAARGGHH AAAAAH!" George yelled as he inched in again...

Fred derived a sick pleasure out of it...

He moaned softly as he pulled back to George's pitiful screams, then thrust in with a little more force..

"AAAAAARGH! AAAAAAH!" George wasn't able to articulate anything else other than screams of utter pain...

"Ah..baby..c-cry.." Fred whimpered as he thrust in once more..

George lay shuddering in pain beneath him, crying hard...

Fred then found a rhythm as his heart started pounding in his throat, his breaths quickened and his head swam...

"Ahh, ahh..cry away y-your..p-pain..." Fred moaned as he thrust in with a steady pace, George's screams slowly turning to that of ecstasy, , "c-cry a-away your...ahh hn ahhh..y-your..w-worries..."

Fred leaned forward and rested his chest over his love's back, and breathed fast into his ear as his thrusts turned steadily deep..

"Ahhh..aaahh...ahhhhh. ohh..ngh..aahhh..." George moaned and hissed, slowly starting to enjoy, as Fred pounded rapidly into him..

"Cry..f-for m-me..." Fred whispered weakly, his thrusts turning frenzied, "so..ahh..I c-could..f-forget my w-worries..."

"Fred..I love y-y-hh aaahh..I..ahhh..l-love.." George whimpered..

"I love you t-too.." Fred breathed, thrusts turning sloppy. He kissed his neck tenderly, kissed him slowly on his jaw, his tear-soaked cheek...

He opened his eyes a bit to see slits of pale, unfocused blue..half-veiled with long, wet, auburn lashes...

"L-love y-you..f-forev-hn..aah..ahh-h..hh- hh ahh ahh.." Fred shuddered violently, orgasm ripping through him as he let out those quick, trembling, ecstatic moans, then spilled into him...and convulsed powerfully in the aftershock...

Fred, bent over the table, lying on top of his love, his weakened legs threatening to give way, was gasping one moment...and weeping bitterly the next...

"Oh..G-Georgie...I'm so s-sorry..." he cried, tears falling down his eyes and dripping down his chin onto his love's neck, "I'm s-scared..I'm ahh..I'm just s-so s-scared...I'm s-s-sorry..I'm so h-horrible t-to y-you.."

"Its alright, love.." George whispered, "Dont be scared..I don't care if we get revealed...it won't be the end of the world...we'll live..."

"Oh..my sweet.." Fred straightened up, wrapped his arms around his tired lover's waist and pulled him toward him. George was so weak that he was about to collapse, but Fred held him securely around his chest, and George tipped his head back and rested it on Fred's shoulder.

"If we're revealed.." George whispered, his eyes closed and face peaceful, "we'll escape from here..my love..escape somewhere far away...and live there peacefully...so don't you worry, baby..all that matters is us being together...rest all be damned to hell..."

Fred kissed his fair throat lovingly, "I'll try my best to save us, love...I won't let some son of a bitch blacken our faces.." he gently turned him around by his shoulders and hugged him tight, gently pushing his head onto his shoulder, and resting his own over his..

"Is it hurting too bad.." he asked after his soft sniffles subsided and a comfortable silence prevailed..

"Just a bit..nothing to worry about.." George assured him..

"No..let me see..." Fred said..

"Freddie...its alright..." he had a playful edge to his whisper, and Fred could feel him smiling against his shoulder..

"No..I want to.." Fred insisted stubbornly..

"Really..its okay..a bit sore..I admit, but bearable..guess its the antic thingie in me..it makes me a bit resistant to injuries and ailments, if you remember..." he whispered in a light tone.

"But I want to be sure..I know what an accomplished liar you are..." Fred thought for their bed, and it appeared in its usual position: in the middle of the room. He lifted George and carried him there, and gently laid him down on the soft white mattress.

George was smiling quietly at him, "Its alright, Freddie.." he murmured.

"No..flip over, baby..."

George obeyed him without another word, turning over and lying on his stomach for him, and mumbled, "You're loopy.." into the pillow.

Fred ignored what he said and carefully splayed his fingers between his cheeks. It was sore and red..but thankfully, did not bleed..

"Hmm, guess you're right about the antic thingie.." Fred mused, but thought for an ointment nevertheless, and helped George relieve his pain..

George chuckled softly into the pillow, "Oh Freddie..you're the poison..and you're the cure.." he murmured affectionately..

"No..I'm the fucking idiot..and I'm the fucking moron..means the same, I know...and fits me perfectly.."

They lay quietly for another half an hour, Fred over George's bare back, softly stroking his hair, his chin resting on his relaxed shoulder and his nose buried in the crook of his neck, breathing in his scent slowly and deeply...

"Let's do the shield charms.." came George's muffled voice after some time, "I want you to be thoroughly trained in it...protecting yourself is important above everything else, my love..I care only and only for your well-being and nothing else..."

"You're sounding so like a loving husband..I can't wait to buy a small flat for us and then marry you, darling.." Fred murmured as he got up from George's back, "Hmm, or were those loving and caring words a trick to make me get off your back 'cause you were getting flattened under me..?"

"A bit of both.." George smiled gorgeously as he got up and gave a small peck on his lips. He summoned their clothes lying at the far end of the room below the table, and they came zooming toward them and threw themselves onto their hands.

Minutes later, they were standing face to face, fully clothed, a good ten feet between them, the golden orange glow of the evening sunlight filling the stone-walled, rectangular room.

And both had their wands held ready in their right hands, George with his twelve and a half inch red-wood with firebird core, and Fred with his fourteen and a half inch rowan of the same core as his twin.

It was the first time they were facing each other with their wands, about to fire spells at each other...

They had saved the practise of the most important spell for the last..so that it would stay fresh in his mind and he could remember it better in the task..

They were almost done with all the spells in the list George had prepared..

Shield charms were among the ones that remained to be honed..

George gave him an encouraging smile, before giving a flick to his wand. A silvery-yellow jet of light burst forth his wand-tip, and headed directly for Fred..

"Protego!" Fred yelled a split second later, his arm outstretched and wand pointed at the jet of light.

An invisible shield was created, over which the silvery-yellow light spread out in the shape of a concave curve, before disappearing away..

"Good one, baby," George gave him a bright smile. But Fred was once again in a state of nervous tension...it was like that whenever they practised...the imminent disaster in case he failed hanging over him like a dark sky about to unleash a cataclysmic hurricane..

"Here comes the next one, love," George warned him before firing a hex at him.

But Fred was too late to react this time, and the hex broke in easily through the hastily produced, flimsy shield...and hit him..

Pain like he never knew before burst through his hands as they swelled twice their size and angry red boils erupted at every inch of it, blood and pus squirting out...

"You fucktard!" Fred yelled, "Fucking arsehole! Fire a killing curse at me! WHY DONT YOU?!"

George's face was drained of colour as he hurried over to him.

"Oh no..I'm so sorry..I'll – "

"Shut the fuck up and do something, you sickfuck!"

A book of counter-spells for hexes appeared in George's hand, and he flipped through the pages frantically for the counter-spell.

"Bleeding pea-brained sickfuck.." Fred growled at him as he searched the book frenetically, "don't you have the brains to aim something mild rather than aiming hexes meant to bleed one to death?!" he looked at his copiously bleeding hands. His wand was lying at his feet, dropped the moment the hex hit his hands...

"Got it got it.." George muttered frantically, and dropped the book in his wild anxiety and haste, and crouched down to read the spell he had spotted.

"Stupid dumbshit! Who the fuck will save your bleeding hole if you hex my dick just three days before the task!"

George straightened up, looking as though he did not hear a single abuse Fred hurled at him, and hastily flicked his wand, and immediately, Fred's hands were completely healed and back to their normal size.

"Is it hurting now, love..?" George asked worriedly.

Fred simply glared at him for a long moment..so much that his poor love's eyes filled with tears again, then averted his gaze and said, looking out the window at the vast, green grounds and the distant dark mountains, "Now don't start crying...just don't aim hexes like that..its just that..I'm, worried..you know..cause I have to stay completely fit for the task..."

"I w-wont..Its j-just that...I w-wanted to s-see if y-you'd be able to deflect if the hexes are s-strong...j-just wanted y-you to be p-prepared..just i-in c-case.." he whispered, trembling.

Fred looked at him to find his eyes red and moist, his red lips quivering slightly...

He'd never seen him this pained in his life..

"Georgie.." Fred's vision blurred with tears, and he threw himself over him, hugging him, and stared at the damp hair sticking to his neck.

He was disoriented with himself..he felt like he was losing his sanity because of his extreme fear of the impending task...

"I'm sorry.." he whispered sincerely, shamefacedly, then drew back and wiped his tears hastily, "It was my mistake..I'm appaling..disgusting..you had warned me..It was my mistake..I'm sorry...don't you give up on me..." tears of shame and self-loathing streamed down his face as he cursed himself for his extremely unstable behaviour.

George stared back with identical eyes shining with tears, "I wont ever give up on you...even if you'd whip me for no reason..." he whispered, leaning in and capturing his tears between his trembling lips, his balmy breath soothing against his eyelids..

"Let's practise, love..." George drew back and whispered, smiling encouragingly through his moist eyes...

They practised for another hour, and Fred was hexed two more times, but lost his cool only once...

"Freddie..this is a little dark spell that I'm about to aim at you..please be very alert, love..." George said, standing ten feet away from him, the room filled with a violet glow of late evening..and even in that dim purple glow, Fred could see his love's anxious face. George had spotted a tad injuring, strong spell in a book they found in the room (this time they were ready with the counter-curse), and was going to check Fred's shielding against it.

"I'll aim the spell when I say now...Now!"

"Protego horriblis!"

A fiery red jet of light burst forth George's wand...

A silvery white jet was emitted by Fred's wand...

At the same moment...

The brilliant lights, appearing extremely bright in the semi-dark room, met at the centre...

And Fred saw something he did not anticipate...

Their spells got connected, a fiery, golden ball at the centre, where they were connected, and Fred felt his wand shaking in his hand..

"Georgie..."

Fred saw that George had a mirrored expression of surprise and confusion on his face..

George withdrew his spell at once, and Fred's silvery shield was released toward George..

"Oh no!" Fred deflected it in the last moment, and let out a huge sigh of relief...

_Protego horriblis_ was a strong shield which could even disintegrate people if cast too forcefully...

He had not expected his love to suddenly withdraw his spell...

"Are you insane, George! You could've got hurt! Why did you withdraw the spell without warning?!" he scolded him as he moved toward his love.

"I..I wasnt sure what was happening, love..so I.." he trailed off, looking a bit sheepishly at Fred as he drew near.

Fred pulled him close by his waist and gave a noisy kiss on his lips, "Mh..its just that this shield was ruddy powerful, my love.." he gave one more quick peck on his lips before drawing back, "What d'you reckon happened now..?" he asked, still holding George around his waist.

"Well..our spells got connected..mm.." he chewed his bottom lip lightly and knit his brows, looking with contemplative blue eyes at Fred, which then turned bright, "I think I know, Freddie!" he exclaimed suddenly.

George closed his eyes, and immediately, a fat book appeared on the table. They moved toward it, and George opened the book.

Without the need to be told, Fred flicked his wand and lit the torches in the brackets on the stone walls, and the room was thrown into a bright golden glow.

George flipped through the book intently, then said, "aha..found it..."

"What's it?" Fred eagerly stuck his head with his.

George traced his forefinger over the print he was reading, "Wands which share their cores, called brother wands, will never work properly against each other if forced to hurt each other's owners. When forced to duel, or cast harmful spells at each other at the same moment, the spells cast by the wands may connect, thereby forming a bond between the two wands. And if, however, the owners of the wands force the wands to do a life and death battle, a very rare effect, known as _priori incantatem_, also called the reverse-spell-effect, takes place. One of the wands will force the other to regurgitate spells blah blah blah.."

George look up at Fred, "Rest of the thing's irrelevant, love..our wands didn't 'regurgitate' any spell...hmm..yeah, so just as I suspected.." he smiled a bit.

"Our wands connected cause they're brothers like us.." Fred chuckled light-heartedly for once, forgetting his worries for a moment. He leaned forward and kissed his soft lips lightly, then rested his forehead against George's, and whispered, "our wands are just like us...connecting and all.." and they both chuckled softly at their inner joke...

George was standing in a tiny, yet neat kitchen..his back turned to Fred...

Ladling out French onion soup into two white porcelain bowls...

Warm golden light fell over him from the window, a red and white chequered curtain hung at the window's sides..

His long, silky red locks were lit by the sunlight...and they seemed to flame like fire...red and gold...

He was wearing an extremely loosely fitting white tee of a thin fabric...at least double his actual size...and nothing else...

"Georgie..." Fred whispered, snaking his arms around his stomach...

But it wasn't his usual flat and toned...

It was swelled...Fred could see a slight bump against the thin white material of his loose tee...

He turned, gave a loving smile, and leaned in for a small peck on his lips...

But the next moment, he convulsed in his arms, his pale blue eyes rolling back...

His face contorted in pain...

"AAAARRRGHH!" he held onto Fred...tightly gripping his shoulders in his pain..

"Georgie!"

"FREDIIIIEEEE! AAAAARRGGHH!" he was rapidly slipping into unconsciousness..his lips turning chalk white...his face turning clammy...his fingers cold against his shoulders...

Yet he screamed...

Screamed his name...

Fred's eyes flew open to find George thrashing against him, his eyes squeezed shut, his face twisted in a horrified expression, his hands gripping Fred's shoulders tight..

And screaming without break..

"NOOOO! NOT FRED! NOOO! AAARRGHH!"

And then he whimpered in a barely audible voice, his breath shallow..."Moody..no n-no..n-not Fred..please..Moody...k-kill me...

"Georgie..." he said groggily..

"AAAAAAARGGH! NOOOO! PLEASE! FREDIIIIEEEE!"

"GEORGE!" Fred shook him roughly by his shoulders, "GEORGIE! I'M HERE!"

George's eyes flew open wide, gasping, sweating profusely...

"Freddiee! Freddiiee!" he burrowed into his chest, crying hard, and wrapped his leg tightly around Fred's waist and squeezed him tight.

Fred rocked him gently...

Slurred some soft words...

His eyes were closing rapidly...sleep claiming him again...

He was so tired these days...

So exhausted...

Mentally...

Intense practise sessions...

The task next day...

Moody's threats...

Mental strain...

Physically...

Fucking George hard...

Hard and fast and rough...

Crying...

He vaguely felt his chest getting soaked with tears before drifting off to another dream of George...

* * *

**This chp was enormous (I never thought it would be this long) and if I squeeze in the task in this it won't look good. Please don't flame or abuse me! :D**

**Next chp will surely be the last task..mysteries will be solved...2 more chps, okay guys?**

**Thank you Sorora for those awesome back-to-back reviews! I was pleasantly surprised!**

**Review PLEASE! :D**


	46. Chapter 46

**Sorora: Cant PM cuz you're a guest so relpyin here. Firstly, THANKS! Haha :D Fred's being a prat I know but that's his way of expressing stress. I don't know if you've read all chps but if you'll read then you'll understand Fred better: he can be really hot-headed at times, unlike George, who is the epitome of calmness (unless the situation's extremely provocative) :D Also, I wanted to show the unconditional love George has for Fred. (I was happy when I got the desired result from you guys: "****_If I were George I would've slapped Fred twice and then spit in his face!_****_Aaaa! *squeak*_****") :D**

**George not cheating (Yule Ball Incident) happened for a reason (you'll soon know)**

**Now, you've pointed out a very good thing: George offering to go in place of Fred. I'll include that in this chp! He'll be asking Fred that for you! :D**

**You said you're not a fan of Angelina/Fred or Angelina/George pairing. Same here! I HATE to think that she married someone who's the spitting image of her dead ex-boyfriend. That's rubbish and, so unfair...almost too good for her, right? [if I were her I would've ****_never_**** married George cuz that'd make me think of Fred each time I'd look at his face! Angelina's so mean and CRUEL!] I like to think that George might've committed suicide instead of marrying. FRED II AND ROXANNE DONT EXIST CUZ GEORGE COMMITTED SUICIDE! THAT'S IT! (that's cruel I know but that's just me! I'm not saying anyone to accept what I think!)**

**Now, another thing you mentioned: George not bleeding in spite of being taken dry by Fred. Once again, I don't know if you've read those chps, but George has a magical condition in my fic which actually heals his injuries and ailments exceptionally fast (and that's just one among its many benefits). Fred had already taken him dry once (if you've read the 'prefect's bathroom' chp you'll know) and he did not bleed even then. [Heehee, this is a strange, not to mention gross, thing to be discussing I know! Then again, this fic isn't rated M for fun!]**

**And the last thing, about them calling each other 'dear', 'baby', 'love', 'sweetheart', 'darling', 'sweet', 'my love', er...whatnot...(hell, even cookie and sugar that's the limits I know!) I like to portray them that way...extremely, deeply, madly in love with each other... I like to think that they're like that cuz they've spent every second of their life with each other and know each other inside out. I want to show the deep bonding, the lack of restrain for showing affection. :D**

**And oh, yes I've had suicidal tendencies *hides face in shame* but that wasnt cuz of love-problem like Fred, t'was for an entirely different reason. And no, if you like slow romances doesn't mean you're a stupid romantic at heart! No, not bungee-jumping, never tried.**

**All clear? Okey-dokey? :)**

**Alright then, lets goooooo...**

* * *

**...**

_Paralyzed by my envy of the night,_

_I am lost without you here,_

_And outside it looks like rain,_

_For the last time, I bleed myself dry tonight._

_(City lights – Motionless in White)_

**...**

* * *

George had his last exam, Charms, that day. Fred spent those two hours going through hexes in an abandoned classroom as usual.

He was surprised when he saw Lee accompanying George as their exams got over and joined Fred in the class.

"Er..bozo..how's it going?" Lee grinned imperceptibly...a bit awkwardly, as he stood, while George plopped down beside Fred on the wooden bench he was sitting on.

Fred looked at him, pokerfaced, then said in a very serious tone, "How come you found the time to swing by and give me a visit? I thought you were busy aping MacMillan...being mute, you know..."

Lee narrowed his eyes slightly, "Git, I'm swallowing my pride and attempting a reconciliation here..so don't act too snooty...else..else what..else I'll attempt it again!"

And that made Fred smile in spite of everything, "I think he remembered our promise of dividing the prize money with him, George – "

"And is desperately trying to get into our good books again now that it struck him, too late I'd say, that you'll be winning the tournament, considering the hours you practised while he was off being a dick," George smirked slightly.

"Oh..alright..I'll be off, then.." he turned and started leaving the classroom.

"Wait! Stop right there, dungbrains.." Fred called after him, and grinned at him when he turned and looked at them with a hurt expression.

"Merlin's most baggy Y fronts..he won't ever stop being histrionic, will he?" Fred grinned at Lee.

Lee jabbered away for most of the time from then, excited about the task that evening, going on about how he was sure Fred was going to be the winner (he knew it long, long ago, he said pointedly to George), then talking about how happy he was that exams were finally over and that it was his most favourite day of the year, then happily going on about his plans for the summer with Angelina..

Fred was thankful that Lee was the talkative sort...that way, he and George did not have to talk much and betray the utter tumult and anguish beneath their coolly pleasant surface...

In between, Fred would catch his love's eyes..and he saw fear and agony...he saw him visualizing Lee spitting in their faces...Dumbledore appearing shocked, angry and hurt...Madam Pomfrey looking triumphant, sneering at them...Ron's face going white, demanding if there was any truth in what he saw...Ginny screaming, hiding her face in front of her classmates and running away...

He saw himself dying...he could hear whispers of 'people have died...' echoing in his love's head...

And he could feel George seeing what Fred visualized...

Dumbledore summoning their parents at once...their mum and dad marching in...

Dad grabbing their collars and shaking them, bellowing what in the earth he was hearing...mum jumping on them, slapping them left and right nonstop..screaming..crying...screaming..screaming. ..

They were seated at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall for lunch, Fred and George putting on a facade of being slightly nervous, yet carefree, as their fellow classmates thumped both Fred and George on their backs, or gave the thumbs-up, or said their best wishes loudly and cheerily, beaming at them (not caring who was Fred and who was George in their wild anticipation and thrill for the last task that evening, with just a few hours left for it to begin) since Fred was the leading champion with the highest points, and they were sure that the Cup was Hogwarts', with Harry as the second best Champion (who, flanked by Ron and Hermione, was chatting away, quite relaxed, unlike the way he was before the first two tasks)

Today, Fred was, miraculously, not seized with anger like the past few days. He was simply left with a feeling of numb fear. Perhaps it was his subconscious preparing itself and conserving his internal energy for the task that evening, instead of wasting it on unwarranted emotions.

The air around them was quivering with a nervous, yet joyful anticipation...

While the leading Champion and his true love were dying on the inside...

Dreading the turn of events should he fail...

That was when McGonagall came walking alongside the Gryffindor table toward them.

"Weasley, Potter," she looked at them in turn, "the champions are congregating in the chamber off the Hall after lunch,"

"But the task's not until tonight!" Harry exclaimed, accidently dropping his Yorkshire pudding, while Fred and George stiffened.

"I'm aware of that, Potter," she said, then looked at the three of them (George, as usual, mistakenly looked at because of his resemblance to Fred), "The champion's families are invited to watch the final task, you know. This is simply a chance for you to greet them." so saying, she moved away.

Family...

This would be the first time he'd be facing the rest of his family after he and George got into a relationship...

A fiery, beautiful relationship which led to them getting engaged...

Them getting dangerously trapped by Moody...

He looked at George, who patted his back and smiled at him, "See you later, then.." he said quietly, his eyes kind and beautiful.

He barely restrained himself from leaning in and giving a small kiss on his lips. Instead, he nodded and got up, crossed the Great Hall, and was joined by Fleur from the Ravenclaw table.

"Preepared well for ze task?" she asked, walking alongside him.

He nodded, then took a good look at her as they walked.

She looked stunning...with her waist-length, silvery blonde hair, her perfect, heart-shaped face, perfectly curved lips tugged up in a gorgeous smile..

And he was going to maim her good looks a few hours later...

Hex her horribly...

Or stun her...

She blushed a little, thinking Fred was checking her out.

"Yep..prepared so well that you'll have a tough time winning.." he said simply and gave a small smile.

"It is not fair, you Hogwarts 'ave two champions..zat much more chance at winning..but well, you are competent..zat one can't deny.." she said, grinning.

"Thanks," Fred said, then smirked, "Sycophancy doesn't usually have much effect on me..just so you know," he said lightly.

"Ah," she grinned jovially, "I wasnt saying zat for 'elp in ze task..I said zat in a friendly way,"

"Don't go talking like this to Ron just because he saved your sister," he said seriously, "He'll be so overjoyed that he might want to express his gratitude by gifting your sister with nephews and nieces,"

"What?" Fleur looked confused.

"Nothing," he said quickly and flashed a grin.

Fleur was left figuring out the meaning of his sentence when they finally reached the door to the chamber, and Fred pushed it open.

And immediately, was greeted by his mum (looking as pleasant-faced and dumpy as ever) and Bill (his fang-earrings dangling and ponytail looking quite unharmed by mum)

"Oh, Fred," she beamed at him and threw her arms around him, then pulled back and kissed him on the cheek, "Did you practise well for the task?" she asked worriedly, then her expression turned half-anxious-half-stern, "Or were you and George dancing around with your silly pranks?"

_Mum if you only knew how much we practised...and why..._

"Well, we did dance a bit...tried new varieties of bop and polka to shame Ron in the next Quidditch Cup should he express his desire for another foreign player.." he nodded at Krum, who had entered after them and was now talking to his dark-haired mother and hook-nosed father.

Bill was grinning at him as he gave him a shoulder-slam greeting, "Charlie couldn't come...too busy with his true love..dont be surprised mum, just the dragons..he wont ever love a human, 'cause he isn't one himself...anyway," he slapped Fred hard on the back twice, "he said you were brilliant with the Short-snout.." then dropped his voice, "and swore you would've been fried worse than you were if he hadn't had the nous to inform you before hand –mum don't look so stern! Cheating's fine if your son's saved from getting turned into a roast beef!- and said you displayed some nice spellwork.. well, I knew you had it in you, bro..raw talent hidden beneath that goofy grin and splendid pranks.."

_Raw passion hidden beneath that deceptive brotherly love..._

"Fred, I want a proper answer," his mum attacked him with her anxious glare, "you did practise well didn't you? This is the last task of _Triwizard Tournament_ we're talking about, Fred...please tell me you've practised!"

"I have practised," Fred said in a monotone, pokerfaced, then cracked a grin when Bill laughed.

"Ah, Fred..just tell her sincerely, else she'll die of anxiety..you do know her.." Bill threw a warm look at their mum.

"Mum.." he sighed, "I swear that I've practised..happy?" he said truthfully, and his mum looked relieved, sensing his honesty.

He looked at his dear family...mum and Bill...

They've fought...countless times...

They've loved each other...with a strong, pure love...

Their fights..no matter how big or small they were...always ended up with them burying the hatchet and caring for each other once again...

But not after tonight..

Should he fail...

So he watched their smiling faces, their warm eyes, their doting smiles...

Soaked it up..

Memorized it...

To cherish it forever...

"...girls like that. I never thought she'd turn out to be a, well, I hate saying this..a scarlet woman!" his mum was going on about something passionately, looking at Fred and Bill in turn, her eyes blazing, "And Fred?! You like girls like her? You could do so much better! Look at the world around you..so many lovely girls...like the one standing there, that blonde girl...don't you like her? She's a fellow Champion too.." she said, eyeing Fleur, who was eyeing Bill with great interest while her parents and sister jabbered away, forgetting all about her earlier ephemeral fondness for Fred.

"What?" Fred said, having lost the thread of conversation.

"Hermione!" his mum's eyes scorched with loathing, "She isn't the right one for you! She's..she's..Merlin..she's three-timing! Ever heard of any girl like her?"

"I have," Bill said cheerfully, "One named Susan...she was the scarlet woman of our batch back when I was the Head here; three-timing's nothing compared to what she used to do," an evocative look fell over his face, and he hid it expertly when their mum's eyes darted toward him.

"Oh no.." Fred rolled his eyes jadedly, "Mum – "

"And where's Harry?" his mum said, looking around anxiously, "Wasn't he informed about us coming for him too? Or did that poor boy think he had no one to turn up here?" she said, looking extremely concerned.

"I'll look for him," Fred said. He opened the door and stuck his head out, and immediately spotted Harry skulking off toward the passageway to the library.

"Oi!" Fred called after him, and Harry turned around, looking a bit startled, "C'mere! Thought you were all alone in this world?"

Harry grinned, and hurried toward the chamber.

His mum beamed at Harry the moment he entered, hugging and kissing him just as if he was her own son, then said, "Why didn't you come along with Fred? Don't you consider us a family even after these four years?"

"It's nice of you.." Harry muttered, "I thought – the Dursleys –"

"Are dunderheads.." Fred offered.

They conversed light-heartedly for the next few minutes..

But Fred only had a tiny part of his heart and mind in the conversation..

The rest was with George, task, Moody, threats...

Whirling around inside his head like a tornado...

"Why's Fred-the-annoying-git so unusually quiet today?" Bill said, eyeing him doubtingly.

"He must be worried about the task, of course.." mum said, looking at him with concern, "Well, you shouldn't be worried and let your mind wander during the task if you've practised well, Fred...it will only make things more difficult.." she said caringly, "Don't be too focused on winning...it's alright even if you come the last.."

_No..it won't be...you'll disown me, mum..._

"Hell no!" Bill said, looking scandalized, "I'll dangle him upside-down by one leg from the Astronomy Tower if he won't!"

"Bill!" his mum shot an angry look at his brother, who was grinning broadly.

Fred, who would've given his brother a fitting reply in any other situation, wasn't able to come up with even a simple statement, his heart thudding with paranoia with each passing minute.

Bill's grin faltered a bit, "Hey, I was just kidding, kiddo.." he winked at him.

"Kiddo's your father's fourth son's eldest brother, dungbrains.." Fred couldn't restrain the innate behaviour in him this time.

"That's more like it!" Bill said happily, "Now that I'm satisfied, lets get out of this sweltering little room..fancy giving us a tour, you two?"

Fred said that he'll bring George with him and join them in the Entrance Hall.

"You do remember there are people called Ron and Ginny in your life, don't you?" Bill asked him.

And he had to bring them too along with his beloved sibling, George.

They spent the rest of the evening walking over the grounds, showing Bill and mum the Beauxbatons carriage and the Durmstrang ship. Everyone was chattering away happily, (except Fred and George) with occasional mollycoddling-talks from mum and ribbings from Bill...and everyone noticed a gloomy air about Fred and George even though they tried to act normal.

Fred found that it was becoming impossible to act normal.

Even though they joked in between to keep up a cheery façade, they lacked their joyful, loud voice...their happy grin...

Their jokes lacked the usual sparkle...they sounded more like sardonic humour at times...

And Bill and their mum thought it was because of his nerves for the impending task..

As they walked around the dark lake, Fred and George trailed behind their family and Harry.

Since morning, Fred had noticed a peculiar look about his love. Though he knew his love dreaded the looming task as much as he did, he couldn't close his eyes to that tiny little change he noticed in his love. It was one of those twin-things...it cannot be explained how...but somehow, he could sense something was up..although he couldn't quite put his finger on exactly what.

Such thoughts were spinning around in his already over-burdened mind when George suddenly gripped his wrist and whispered, his eyes lit with a sudden idea, "Baby..I could go instead of you for the task! We both look the same..and I could –"

"My sweet dinky dummy.." Fred whispered tenderly, smiling, wanting to hold him and kiss him softly right then and there, "so that you could get chucked out of the task within minutes of your entry? We practised everything keeping in mind my participation, didn't we? D'you think you'd be able to produce a shield charm when all you did the past few days was fire hexes at me? Besides, I don't think we'll go undetected, love...there might definitely be some magic in place to recognize the real champions.."

His love's face fell after he heard him...and gripped his hand tighter...

They returned to the castle for the evening feast.

Hermione joined Harry and Ron at the table, and grinned at their mum and Bill.

"Hello, Hermione," their mum said much more stiffly than usual.

"Hello," Hermione said, her smile faltering at the cold expression on their mum's face.

"Oh mum..." Fred said resignedly, "She's not Harry's girlfriend, and neither is she mine..you didn't believe all that hogwash that Skeeter woman wrote, did you?"

"Oh.." their mum looked embarrassed, "No..no I didn't," she changed tack quick as a flash and smiled warmly at Hermione.

The Great Hall was packed with students shivering with excitement..the air was brimming with wild thrill..

Cornelius Fudge was present as the fifth judge instead of the dead-and-turned-into-a-bone Crouch, and was seated at the top table along with Bagman and Madam Maxime.

The plates and goblets in front of them were filling...lots of courses appearing on the golden plates..

Fred and George did not eat a morsel of food...

They linked their hands below the table. George gripped his hand hard..it was cold against his...

"Eat something, Freddie.." he whispered.

"I c-cant.." he breathed, without looking up at his love and staring at his plate.

"Fred, George," their mum called from two seats away, "Are you two not eating?" she knit her brows at them and pressed her lips into a line.

"This pudding's mouldy.." George replied in a raised voice, looking over at their mum.

"Our puddings are quite fresh," she narrowed her eyes and looked stern.

"Then the house elves were being particularly mean to _this-_" Fred rapped their table lightly, "table..." (George gave a forced smirk...he could see the corners of his mouth trembling slightly)

"Fred, darling, if you won't eat how will you –"

"You uttered the forbidden word in public, mum... the d-word...I'm feeling – " Fred said,

"Embarrassed.." his twin completed for him.

"So you could forget any chances of compliance from our part now.."

"Merlin..one must learn how to shut people up from you two.." Lee said, shaking his head and laughing.

The enchanted ceiling overhead was fading from blue to a dusky purple.

The last bits of their un-touched food disappeared from their plates, and Dumbledore rose to his feet at the staff table.

The silence that fell over the Great Hall was absolute.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes' time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field for the third and the final task of the Triwizard Tournament.."

"Freddie, come with me! Quick!" George whispered urgently, shooting up from his seat, his face frantic.

"W-What? Where?" Fred asked, surprised.

"Just get up and come with me!" he said in a low voice, talking rapidly and looking desperate.

Without another word, he got up.

They heard a cacophony of "Fred, George -" "where are you -" "where-" "hey-"

"Just to the bathroom..he forgot his wand there.." George said hastily, "I noticed it in the afternoon and forgot to tell him.." he invented wildly, and they hurried off...

George was gripping his wrist tight as he streaked ahead, Fred following him, sprinting.

He was leading him to a dark, narrow passageway which opened to the right side of the corridor to the library. The passageway appeared only when one slapped the stone statue of the goblin in front of it hard, (they had discovered this secret passage when they were in their third year).

"Georgie? What's the ma–"

"You'll know, love.." was the only reply.

George slapped the goblin hard on the face (he remembered the happy times when they laughed their heads off at this), the goblin sprang aside, and the walls split open. George pulled him in, and the passageway was thrown into pitch darkness as the walls banged close on its own.

"Georgie..the task's about to-"

George might've flicked his wand, because the narrow, stone-walled passageway was suddenly lit by a lone torch burning a few feet behind them.

George's face was white as a sheet, his eyes wide with urgency and fear...yet glowing with frenzied love.

"Baby, take out your wand, hurry!" George said frantically.

Fred took it out in a flash.

George was moving backward, creating a distance of a few feet between them as he drew out his own wand.

"Point it toward me, quick!" George yelled hysterically.

He did so, bewildered.

"_Weis vivrenheil!" _George yelled a spell he had never heard of before..his wand pointed at the wand-tip of his own...

A blinding, pure white light, so bright that it hurt Fred's eyes, burst forward, rushing toward him..the magic so powerful that the hair at the back of his neck were raised..

He couldn't see anything except pure, brilliant white.

His love's favourite colour...

It surrounded him everywhere...enveloped him...

Then, he felt his wand tremble powerfully in his hand.

The light dimmed slightly..and he could see ahead of him as though looking through thick white fog...

Their wands were connected by thick strands of pure white, brilliant light..

Vaguely, he discerned George raising his right hand...

He positioned his wrist over the white-hot strands...

And let it lightly touch the bright light.

Nothing could've prepared Fred for what happened next...

The white strands abruptly turned blood red..

So suddenly that Fred was frightened..

Fred was never this disturbed by his favourite colour...

A raw energy crept through Fred's wand...he could feel it in his hand...

He felt it travelling up his arm..to his chest..to his other arm..to his legs..

His entire body was tingling...warmth crawling through every nerve, every cell, every fiber...

Then, he felt it growing fainter..just as the blood red strands connecting their wands faded away...

Fred stood, his wand gripped tightly in his hand, his heart thudding with fright and surprise at the awe-inspiring sight he just witnessed..

"G-Georgie.." he whispered, trembling.

George was rushing toward him, his face glowing with happiness, yet an expression of wild apprehension still on his face..

Whatever happened, was happening...was completely, utterly mad...

"Oh Freddie!" George threw himself over him, then kissed him madly all over his face, cupping his face in his soft hands..

"What the hell was that, love?" Fred asked, shocked beyond words.

"My love for you," was all he said. Just as he drew back, he saw his right wrist..

There was a deep gash over his wrist..so deep that he could see his flesh..

But the blood and flesh were not red..

It was black..

Black as tar...

"GEORGE! W-WHAT THE-! OH NO! OH NO!"

"Hush, love.." George kissed him deeply on his lips, then pulled back quickly, "Lets hurry! The task might've started! Oh Merlin!" he said, and grabbed Fred's arm and tugged him forward, the stone walls splitting open once again for them to pass.

His love completely ignored his constant yelling of what had happened to his hand..that he did not care about the task and wanted to take him to the hospital wing...

He now understood why he felt that mysterious hunch throughout the day...his love was secretly planning on doing whatever he had done just moments ago...

Fred thought his brain would explode if he'll be placed under any more stress than what he was going through right now...

When they reached the Quidditch pitch, the stands were already filled with screaming crowd, their yells strangely amplified that dark evening. The skies were a shade of deep purple, the first stars slowly appearing...

The other three champions were already standing ready in front of the twenty foot tall, enormous maze, Bagman rapidly giving instructions to them.

"Ah, there he is! Come on, boy, quick..you're the first one to go in!" Bagman said without meeting his eyes.

Fred turned to his love for a final time, looking at his beautiful, loving, kind face...

Into those pale blue eyes..

At those soft, sculpted lips...

High cheekbones..

Strong chin..

High forehead...

Freckles over his long nose and soft cheeks...

Long, silky ginger hair framing it all carefully...

His wrist dripping with black blood...

Without caring about where they were, he hugged him tight.

"You'll say what that was all about when I'll be back..." he whispered into his ear, then kissed the cute little mole on his neck tenderly.

It was the first time he displayed his deep affection for his lover in public. And he didn't give a shit about what others might think. All that mattered was George.

His beautiful angel.

Their eyes were ablaze with deep love as they pulled away and stared at each other.

Then, Fred turned his back to his beloved fiancé, and walked toward the entrance of the maze, standing beside Harry.

There was a gap right in front of them: the entrance toward the vast maze. The passage beyond it looked dark and forbidding.

It seemed as though he were in a slow-motioned, unreal dream..

Everything seemed formless and paradoxical...

He heard Bagman's voice from the other end of a long tunnel, "...missed the instructions, but never mind! We'll be patrolling outside the maze. If you get into difficulty, and wish to be rescued, send red sparks into the air, and one of us will come and get you, clear?"

Fred indistinctly felt himself nodding slightly, his wand clutched tightly in his right hand.

Then, Bagman's magically amplified voice was echoing into the stands:

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and the final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! In the first place, with eighty-seven points – Mr. Fredrick Weasley, of Hogwarts School!"

The thundering cheers and applause for him sent birds from the Forbidden Forest fluttering into the darkening sky.

"In the second place, with eighty-five points – Mr. Harry Potter, again of Hogwarts School!"

It seemed the entire Hogwarts was on its feet now, screaming with wild abandon.

"In the third place, with eighty points – Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!" the applause didn't cease, "And in the fourth place, with seventy two points – Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"

Fred's brain went into that all too familiar auto-pilot, emotionless, detached mode which he came to associate with high-adrenaline, life-and-death situations.

"So...on my whistle, Fredrick!" Bagman said, "Three – two – one –"

He gave a short blast of whistle, and Fred stepped into the dark, sinister world of the towering maze.

The soaring hedges cast black shadows across the path, and whether because they were so tall and thick or because they had been enchanted, the sound of the surrounding crowd was silenced the moment he entered the maze. Fred felt almost as though he were underwater again. He flicked his wand, and muttered, "Lumos,".

He stood still right there, near the entrance (which was now closed), thinking he'd proceed after Harry enters, so that he could constantly stay with him, clearing his path for him.

But perhaps the magic in the hedges detected his intentions, and they were closing in around him dangerously. He moved forward quickly, and they retreated back in the blink of an eye, appearing deceptively innocent once again.

He changed his tack and walked forward slowly, but Harry still did not enter. He looked back, but couldn't spot where the entrance was. All he could see was towering dark green hedges. Perhaps the entrance changed its position magically and made the next champion appear at a different location in the maze, even though it might seem from outside that they entered from the same spot.

He continued on forward. After about fifty yards, he reached a fork. Then, he heard a whistle outside the maze. Harry had entered.

The dark path ahead of him seemed completely deserted. He turned right, hoping to bump into Harry, and hurried on, holding his wand high over his head, trying to see as far ahead as possible. But there was no sign of Harry.

Bagman's whistle blew in the distance for the third time. Krum had entered the maze now.

Fred felt his heart pick up its pace slightly, a feeling of hunger rising in him...

Hunger to stun him...right now..if only he'd come across his prey...

Fred kept looking behind him. The odd feeling that he was being watched was upon him...

Perhaps it was Moody...checking if he was doing his bidding...

The thought was absurd, Fred told himself..and moved along the narrow, winding path, meeting dead-ends, changing courses.

He heard the whistle blow in the distance for the fourth and the final time.

All the champions were inside the maze now.

Fred felt he was losing his bearings in the meandering, confusing maze. _"Point me,"_ he whispered the four-point spell George had made him practise, his wand held flat on his palm. His wand spun around once and pointed toward his right, into the solid hedge. That way was north, and he knew that he needed to go northwest for the centre of the maze. The best he could do was take the left fork and go right again as soon as possible.

The path ahead was empty too, and when he reached a right turn and took it, he again found it unblocked. He wasn't sure why, but the lack of obstacles was unnerving him. Surely he should have met something by now? It felt as though the maze was lulling him into a false sense of security.

Then, he heard a movement right behind him. He spun around, ready to attack, his wand pointed at...

George...

Fred gasped, "Baby, how did y-you...?"

George was smiling lustfully at him, his face pale, his eyes scorching with utter desire...

Fred felt himself getting beguiled by that tempting gaze...

"Come closer, sweetheart..." George whispered softly, "I want you in me so bad..." his voice dripped with need and lust...

Fred was aroused, his breath quickening as he drew closer to him without any sense of time, place or circumstances...

He pulled his beautiful body close, and leaned in to kiss him..

George avoided his kiss and hugged him tight..so tight that his lungs were getting squeezed beneath his ribcage, suffocating him..

He felt his cold fingers slowly closing around his neck...which then became a whole palm..

And George slowly started applying pressure to his neck...

He felt his head getting heavier and his eyes bulging as supply of oxygen to his brain was cut off..his compressed chest and squeezed neck pleading to be released..

He stared wildly at the glossy ginger hair which fell to the base of his pale neck...unable to move even an inch under that tight grip...

But his arms were free...since George had his arms hooked under his...

He raised his right arm and pointed his trembling wand at George's back, trying to cast _relashio_ non-verbally...

Somewhere in the back of his rapidly dimming, frantic mind...he realized it wasn't George who was holding him...

_Relashio...relashio...relashio..._

Dark...dim...nothing...hazy...

_RELASHIO!_

The fake-George was thrown off him, and fell a few feet away. He raised his head and looked at him, his irises glimmering creepily with a pale blue glow, that lustful smirk still in place.

Fred's heart was pounding with terror and anguish as he gasped in wonderful, cool air in great gulps. Just as the evil dead ringer of his beloved got up and started approaching him again, he pointed his wand straight at it and yelled, _"Impedimenta!"_

The spell hit it square in the chest, and it disappeared in a puff of white smoke.

Fred, his neck hurting awfully and the sensation of being squeezed still lingering, hurried away from that path and took a left turn.

That wasn't a boggart, Fred thought...because he knew it very well that that wasn't his innermost fear. It was more like some sort of lure, putting him into an enchanted stupor and then harming him.

Fred then suddenly realized that his neck was not paining at all...how come the pain was relieved so quickly...?

But he did not dwell much upon it in his growing trepidation on not spotting a single Champion until now...

Just as he was beginning to freak out horribly, he saw the back of Fleur, half-hidden by the hedge, a good fifteen feet ahead of him. She seemed terrified, and was stuttering and whimpering at something Fred couldn't see from where he was standing.

Fred's heart lurched in wild eagerness. He wanted to hex her, or stun her, and eliminate her from the task as soon as he could; that would mean one third of the heavy burden weighing down on him lightened.

He quickened his pace, jogging forward, his mind strangely composed, as though he had callously hurt people countless times before.

He and his lover were threatened with the stripping of their pride, and he'd be a complete loser if he'd allow that to happen to them.

And he was sure as fuck that he'd go to any lengths to stop that from happening.

Fleur seemed to hear his rapid footfalls, and whirled around, her eyes wild as she blindly pointed her wand toward him and yelled a spell.

Fred easily deflected the spell with a simple flick of his wand, his mind now fully focused on the task at hand: taking out Fleur from the task.

Fleur's ability to speak seemed to be currently inoperative as she turned back, and resumed fighting...her boggart, it seemed to Fred...a half-blistered-half-decaying, nude and bald female figure with red, raw, sunken face and empty eye-sockets..a wand held in its rotten hand, pointed directly at Fleur. It seemed to be a grotesque, disfigured version of Fleur herself, and was mirroring Fleur's actions.

She was immersed in her struggle with her boggart...

She thought of Fred as a harmless, attractive bloke..

She could never have anticipated Fred's next action -

"_Stupefy!" _Fred yelled, attacking her from behind.

Fleur fell forward at once, face-planting onto the ground with a muffled thud.

The ghastly nude woman before him spun on its place rapidly, and turned into...

George's dead body, lying sprawled on the ground..his face deathly pale and peaceful...

"R-Riddikulus.."

Fred, a skilled prankster, wasn't able to think of a single thing which could make George's dead body look funny...

"Ahh..." Fred moaned, tears starting to swim in his eyes. He bit his lip hard, angrily pointed his wand forward, tried hard to imagine something funny about his love's dead body, and whimpered, "R-R-Riddikulus..."

Dead..cold..silent..stiff...

Desperate tears rolled down his cheeks..

"RIDDIKULUS! RIDDIKULUS!" he bellowed manically.

Dead...peaceful...

Fred closed his eyes, and forced his mind to think about their childhood...those happy, carefree days...

..."_Feddie...beedie the bard says you gwow big mouth if you lie...so don't lie and gimme that teddy..._

_Freddie..you'll grow a big mouth if you lie, stop acting and get up..._

_"One day, I'll grow a big mouth to kiss you and make you shut up, Georgie..."_

_"Stupid prat..and I'll grow a big mouth to burp into yours and make you faint then and there..."_

And he imagined his love getting up and doing just that...

_"RIDDIKULUS!"_

There was a loud crack, and the shape-shifter exploded in a wisp of smoke.

Before he could recover from the shocks he was being subjected to one after another, he was forced to deal with yet another obstacle.

A Blast-ended screwt, enormous and terrifying, at least ten feet long, nothing like the tiny ones George had tried feeding in Hagrid's cabin months and months ago, turned up at the narrow path he was standing in, and trundled toward him. It looked more like a giant scorpion than anything. Its long sting was curled over its back. Its thick armour glinted in the light from Fred's wand, which he pointed at it.

"Stupefy!"

The spell hit the screwt's armour and rebounded. Fred ducked just in time, but could smell burning hair; it had singed the top of his head. The screwt issued a blast of fire from its end and flew forward toward him.

"_Impedimenta!" _Fred yelled. The spell hit the screwt's armour again, and ricocheted off; Fred staggered back a few paces and fell over. "_IMPEDIMENTA!"_

The screwt was inches from him when it froze – he had managed to hit it on its fleshy, shell-less underside. Panting, Fred pushed himself away from it and stepped back a few paces, stumbled over something, and fell down once again, and saw that it was Fleur, lying still on her stomach.

He saw the fearsome (now motionless) screwt before him, and immediately decided that it would be very unwise to leave Fleur lying there unconscious...she could be eaten alive by a screwt...or by Merlin-knows-what in that sinister maze...

He took a very rapid and judicious decision...

Standing there beside Fleur, he raised his arm above his head, his wand pointed to the deep blue-black sky, and shot a shower of red sparks into the air, which hovered above Fleur, marking the spot where she lay.

And then, Fred ran, hard, in the opposite direction; the Impediment curse was not permanent, the screwt would be regaining the use of its legs at any moment. Another reason was – he did not want to be spotted anywhere near an unconscious Fleur by the patrollers who would be there any moment to get her.

It was not after he had ran through paths upon winding, narrow paths...without any idea of where he was heading, for at least ten minutes, that the state of numb shock he was in finally subsided, and he slowed down his sprint into a slow jog...

And allowed himself to reflect – _One down, one to go, one to be assisted..._

He stopped his jogging, and performed the four-point-spell. He knew that the other two will definitely head toward the centre, and not away from it...he needed to move toward the centre of the maze to stumble upon them.

He took a left path, hit a dead end, a right, hit another...

_I need to find those two before its too late..._

He forced his heart to stop hammering wildly, performed the four-point spell again, found that he was heading far too east, backtracked, and took a path that would take him north-west...

He had been hurrying along the new path for a few minutes when he heard something in the path running parallel to his own...

Krum muttering some spell...

His spirits were lifted. He was close to his second prey...he stood just over the other side of the hedge...

So close..

He wanted to get to him right now..and finish off the whole bloody matter of the opponent Champions...

He pointed his wand at the hedge, and muttered, "Reducto.."

It wasn't very effective, but it burned a hole in the hedge through which Fred forced his leg, kicking at the thick brambles and branches until they broke and made an opening. He struggled through it, tearing his robes, and looking to his right, he saw Krum pointing his wand at a five-foot-high tarantula, yelling some curse at it.

Krum heard the rustling of the hedge, and whirled around, then relaxed when he saw it was Fred.

"Oh! It vos you..I thought..veil..never mind.." he turned back to the tarantula, which was advancing slowly and menacingly toward him, which had thick, shell-like skin and strange pincer-like antennae near what seemed to be its mouth, and was spewing what seemed to be thick, white strings out of it.

Fred did not dwell upon the bizarre-ness of the tarantula as he raised his wand, and yelled, _"Stupefy!"_

But Krum, unlike Fleur, was too quick for him.

He spun around at the double, deflected it, and a hex came hurtling toward Fred like a bat out of hell.

_"Protego!"_ Fred yelled instantly, and the hex disintegrated against the shield.

Krum looked livid and surprised, "You! How could you! Vot the hell do you think you are doing?" he screamed.

Fred did not bother answering him as he fired a hex straight at him. He deflected it once again.

"Veasely! This is veiry unethical vot you are doing!"

"_Everte statum!" _Fred yelled, and Krum shielded it expertly.

Krum's face twisted into rage as he cried, "_Expelliarmus!"_

Fred deflected it, his mind extremely focused on putting up a strong fight in what was turning out to be a duel.

He could see the tarantula dangerously close behind Krum, and Fred improvised fast...

_If I'll keep him occupied in duelling with me the tarantula will attack him from behind and take care of him for me..._

_"Stupefy!" _Fred yelled once again..

"_Flipendo duo!" _Krum deflected and growled.

The tarantula was spinning thick webs around Krum's waist...

"_Protego!"_ Fred's expression was extremely neutral despite the joyful leaping of his heart.

"Fred!"

It was Harry's voice...coming from the side of the hedge through which Fred had entered, and Fred's joy knew no bounds...he was never this happy to hear Harry's voice...it sounded almost musical to his ears at that moment...

But he had his eyes trained on Krum, ready to deflect should he aim another spell..

Krum had got tightly bound to the tarantula around his waist by those thick webs when he fired a hex, and that was when the realization that he was trapped around his waist hit him.

Fred didn't need to deflect his hex, since it had gone astray because of Krum's lack of attention in duelling; it was now diverted to the webs around his waist.

"Fred! What the hell happened?"

Fred threw a quick look at Harry to find that he looked bewildered, before turning his gaze to stare alertly at Krum, whose arms too were now bound by the rope-like strands the tarantula was spewing continuously.

_Good..now he wont be able to move his arm to fire spells..._

"Nothing," Fred looked back at Harry, and saw that he did not buy what he said. Harry was looking up at him with creased brows, "I heard you from the other side of the hedge...then I saw the hole burnt into it... Why were you two duelling? Did he try to – "

"You cheaters!" Krum was howling, kicking about his legs, "How dare y-y.." he couldn't complete the rest of his sentence as thick webs were spun around his mouth too.

"No time for chit-chatting, young Harry," Fred's spirits were soaring rapidly now, "We'll lend a little helping hand to Krum here before moving on intrepidly toward our shared goal..." he grinned brightly at Harry, then moved cautiously toward the tarantula to which Krum was bound (he noticed that it moved too sluggishly, unlike the screwt), crouched a few feet away from it, and pointed his wand at its underbelly, having got the idea from his earlier encounter with the screwt, and yelled, _"Impedimenta!"_

Immediately, the tarantula's movements were arrested, and it stopped spinning its web all over Krum and enveloping him in a tight cocoon..

"There, now he won't die.." Fred said happily, straightening up, "His nose is bared to the open world..." Fred pointed his wand to the sky and shot red sparks, just like he did with Fleur.

He turned to Harry, who was looking apprehensively at Krum, "C'mon, Harry..let's get going.."

"What actually happened?" Harry asked as he kept his wand in the four-point mode so that it was constantly giving them the right direction, while Fred held his lit wand aloft, lighting up the dark path ahead of them, "Did he try to hex you and hold you back?"

"Yeah, yeah he did.." Fred agreed without objection as they strode on, hitting dead-ends, changing courses, taking routes that would lead them north-west...to the heart of the maze.

He felt as though a mountain was lifted off his head...

He felt a sense of calm happiness wash over him..

But still, he had to get to that Cup now, with Harry...

"What horrors did you meet in your way, Harry?" Fred asked as they took a left route and jogged forward.

"Met a boggart..thought it was a real dementor at first..then there was this strange golden mist..I walked through it, and it felt as though the whole world turned upside-down..but then thankfully one just had to move one's legs to get out of it.." Harry said, looking quite relaxed now that he had Fred by his side, "What about you?"

Fred thought about his encounters and shivered..

"Long story...boggarts and screwts and whatnot...t'was mad..mad as balls..Will tell you over a cup of coffee after we get out of this shithole with all our organs intact, Fred said.

The path was getting extremely dark now, and Fred could feel that they were nearing the core of the maze.

As they strode down a long, straight path, they saw a movement, and Fred's beam of wandlight hit an extraordinary creature..

It was a sphinx. It had the body of an over-large lion: great, clawed paws and long yellowish tail ending in a brown tuft. It's head, however, was that of a woman. She turned her long, almond-shaped eyes upon them as they approached. They raised their wand, hesitantly. She wasn't crouching as if to spring, but pacing from side to side of the path, blocking their progress. Then she spoke, in a deep, hoarse voice:

"You are very near your goal. The quickest way is past me."

"So..will you move, please?" Fred said, his eyes weary, knowing perfectly well what the answer was going to be.

"No," she said, continuing to pace, "not until you answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess – I let you pass. Answer wrongly – I attack. Remain silent – I let you walk away from me unscathed,"

"Wow," Fred snorted, "were you a part-time employee in some disciplining camp?"

She looked at him humourlessly, "If you will not waste your precious time then it will be that much easier for you to reach your goal...with each passing minute, the road ahead gets tougher.."

"Er..okay.." Harry said, "Can we hear the riddle..?"

The sphinx sat down upon her hind legs, in the very middle of the path, and recited:

"_First, think of the person who lives in disguise,_

_Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies._

_Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend,_

_The middle of the middle and end of the end?_

_And finally give me the sound often heard_

_During the search for a hard-to-find word._

_Now string them together, and answer me this,_

_Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"_

They both gaped at her.

"Could we have it again...more slowly?" Fred asked.

She blinked at him, smiled, and repeated the poem.

"All the clues add up to a creature we'd be unwilling to kiss...?" Fred thought aloud, half-asking the sphinx.

She simply smiled her mysterious smile, and Fred took that for a yes.

Creature he wouldn't want to kiss..hmm, there were many..that tarantula, for example..but of course, that wasn't the answer..

The first two lines of the poem immediately conjured the picture of Moody in his mind..

Fucking imposter...

"Imposter?" Fred said aloud, then quickly said, "No no! That wasn't my answer! A –

"Spy?" Fred and Harry said together.

"Wait. We'll come back to that later..." Fred said, and thought hard, "last to mend..end of end..middle of middle...that's D!" he yelled..."D..yep, that's the letter 'D' for sure..could I have the last two lines, please?"

And the sphinx repeated it for them.

"The sound often heard during the search for a hard-to-find word," Harry said, "Er...that'd be...er...sound, a sound while searching for a hard-to-find word...er..."

"Brilliant, Harry!" Fred screamed, his heart bounding with elation, "Er..'er's the sound!"

Harry looked dumbfounded when Fred thumped his back hard, then jumped when Fred yelled, "_Spider!"_

"W-Where?!" Harry looked around, panicked.

Harry then relaxed and grinned when the sphinx smiled broadly. She got up, stretched her front legs, and moved aside for them to pass.

"Thanks!" they both shouted as they dashed forward.

They had to be close now, had to be...Harry's wand was pointing straight ahead, telling them they were bang on course...

Other two champions were knocked out of the game...

He had Harry by his side...

He did it...

_I did it, my Georgie...I'm going to make it..._

_We did it, my love...I'm so close now...close to getting out of here, triumphant..._

They now stood before a number of paths splitting ahead of them. Harry's wand pointed to the right.

They dashed up this one...and saw light ahead.

The Triwizard Cup was gleaming on a plinth a hundred yards away.

"Yeah..." Fred drawled, and Harry grinned brightly with him, "Alright, Harry m'boy, lets get the ruddy Cup and claim the galleons...together.." he looked at Harry, and said, "Er...it'll be okay if we share the prize between us, wont it?"

_I'll make you if you say 'no', Harry...simple as that..._

_"_"Course!" Harry grinned, then his eyes widened with shock as they darted to Fred's right, "Fred, look!"

Fred spun around, and saw –

A humungous spider..

Unlike the sluggish tarantula...this eight-legged, horrifying arachnid was literally flying toward them...its hairy, bent-and-broken looking, oversized twig-like legs scuttling over the hedges rapidly...

It looked so gross and terrifying (mostly because of its hair-raising speed) that both of them screamed with utter fright, turned, and ran, hard...

"_STUPEFY! IMPEDIMENTA! STUPEFY!" _Fred yelled crazily, shooting curses over his shoulder as they ran, Harry yelling similar curses beside him...

But it was no use; the spider was either so large, or so magical, that the spells were doing no more than aggravating it.

Fred had one horrifying glimpse of eight shining black eyes and razor sharp pincers before it was upon him.

He was lifted twelve feet into the air in one swooping motion on the spider's hairy, sticky front legs, the world around him a moving blur...

He was struggling madly, and tried kicking it, but his leg got connected with the pincers and next moment, he was in excruciating pain. He could hear Harry yelling "_Stupefy_!" below him, but it was no use.

Fred suddenly remembered a spell he and George had come across long ago when they were searching for spells for their fake wand...to turn it into a spider...

He remembered George joking about something as he pointed out the spell which would help banish the spider (in case the fake wand transfigured into a much too deadly spider)...

"_Arania Exumai!"_ Fred roared.

It worked. The spider was thrown off him. But that meant Fred was dropped by the spider, and plummeted twelve feet onto his already injured leg, which crumpled beneath him. Without pausing to think, the moment he saw the spider jerking and standing on its legs once again, he aimed high at the spider's underbelly, like he did with the screwt and tarantula, and shouted "_Stupefy!_" just as Harry yelled the same thing.

Their combined spell had much stronger effect: the spider kneeled over sideways, flattening a nearby hedge, and strewing the path with a tangle of hairy legs.

"Fred!" he heard Harry shouting, "Are you alright?" he hurried over to him, jumping over the frozen heap of the spider's legs.

Fred looked down at his injured leg. Once again, he was amazed by how the pain, though still throbbing, wasn't unbearable...and the deep gash on his shin (visible through his torn robes), wasn't bleeding freely like it was moments ago...thick, dried, claret blood was caked over it.

"Yeah, I'm fine.." he looked up at Harry, then grabbed his arm, "Lets hurry and get to the Cup before another fucking obstacle crops up.."

Fred and Harry jumped over the hairy tangle of the spider's legs, and bounded forward, hand in hand, toward that bright light issuing from the Triwizard Cup, sitting majestically on that plinth...

Fred saw himself emerging from the maze with the Cup raised high above him and Harry, grinning jubilantly...

He and George being spared of the mortification they were threatened with as Moody saw his orders executed perfectly by Fred...

He hugging George..sobbing joyfully that it was all over...they were past the danger...they could breathe again...

Fred and Harry were nearing...nearing...

When they finally reached it, they both held a hand out over one of the cup's gleaming handles.

Fred was grinning broadly when Harry said, "On three, right? One – two – three – "

He and Harry both grasped a handle.

Instantly, Fred felt a jerk somewhere behind his navel. His feet had left the ground. He could not unclench the hand holding the Triwizard Cup; it was pulling him onward in a howl of wind and swirling colour, Harry at his side.

Fred then felt his feet slam onto the ground, and he and Harry fell down in a heap on the ground. The Cup slipped away from their grasp and was thrown a few paces away from them.

He looked around as he slowly got up.

The place was definitely not Hogwarts.

"Where are we?" Harry said.

Fred shook his head as he reached out, grasped Harry's arm, and helped him to his feet.

They had left the Hogwarts grounds completely; they had obviously travelled miles – perhaps hundreds of miles – for even the mountains surrounding the castle were gone. They were standing instead in a dark and overgrown graveyard; the black outline of a small church was visible beyond a large yew tree to their right. A hill rose to their left. He could make out the outline of a fine old house on the hillside.

Fred looked down at the Cup lying on the ground, and then at Harry, "Did anyone tell you the Cup was a portkey?"

"Nope," Harry said, looking around, seeming as baffled as him.

"Blimey," Fred whispered, "Wands out, then, m'boy...who knows this might be another fucking obstacle...I swear to Merlin's grandad's illegitimate grandson that I'll dip the organizers of this task in boiling oil once I get out of – someone's coming," he peered ahead -

Squinting tensely through the darkness, they watched the figure drawing nearer, walking steadily toward them between the graves. Fred couldn't make out a face, but from the way it was walking and holding its arms, he could tell that it was carrying something. Whoever it was, he was short, and wearing a hooded cloak pulled up over his head to obscure his face. and, several paces nearer, the gap between them closing all the time, he saw that the thing in its arms looked like a baby...or was it merely a bundle of robes?

Fred and Harry exchanged quizzical looks.

It stopped beside a towering marble headstone, only six feet from them. For a second, Fred, Harry, and the short figure simply looked at one another.

Then, he saw Harry's face twisting in pain as he let out a piercing yell. His wand slipped from his fingers as he put his hands over his face, and then, fell into his knees onto the ground, howling in pain.

"Harry!" Fred was bending down to help him...

Then, Fred heard a spine-tingling, bloodcurdling, high cold voice...which shivered his very bones...

Shivered him to the core...

"_Kill the spare."_

Fred threw his head up, eyes wild..

The short figure was looking straight at him, his wand swishing at him..

_No.._

_..Freddie, I love you so much.._

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

_...I promise y-you, my love..that I'll n-never leave y-you..._

_"PROTEGO HORRIBLIS!"_

Blinding green jet of light..

Rush of speeding death..

Silvery-white shield...

..._th-that I'll v-value m-my life f-for y-you.._

Chilly green light breaking in through his powerful shield..

Fragmenting into strands of bright green..

Hitting all over him...

A sharp pain shooting through heart...

Seeing the colour of death...

Black..

His soul falling apart...

He was nothing.


	47. Chapter 47

**Sorry for taking so long to post this chp. **

**I had been very busy for the past few days cuz I moved my house (moved out of country).**

**With this chp ends 'Love is Blind', dear readers.. :)**

**Read, enjoy, and please let me know what you think through your lovely reviews... :)**

* * *

Black...

Infinity...

Light...

Hovering through endless space...

He might have been there for a few seconds...

Or was he floating there since the beginning of time?

Swirling vivid colors..

He knew every element of this stretch of unending space...

Every phase of time...

He was an infant in a womb...

An old man in his grave...

He was formless..

Time was accelerating at an alarming rate..he was flying eras and eras ahead...

Then it reversed as rapidly, and he was back again at the beginning of time...

He was present in different dimensions at the same time..

Existing by different identities, different appearances, different surroundings..

Did he only have a vast, cosmic consciousness?

Didn't he have any memories?

Any emotions?

Somehow, he didn't want to _feel_. He was happy with simply _being_.

But he just felt something right now, against his desires..

He felt a sharp pain.

No..he did not want to feel..he did not want to feel anything..he simply wanted to exist..

Warmth was spreading through him.

But he did not want to feel..he just wanted to exist..

Suddenly, a burst of memory rushed through him..

_...Freddie..._

He knew that whisper..it was so familiar..

Ginger hair..

Freckles..

Pale, smooth skin..

_..Feddie..Fred..Freddie.._

_..gimme that teddy...let's try that stupid charm..we'll drop dungbombs over him.._

Soft voice..bright smile..

Ringing laughter..

Warmth was steadily growing into heat..

..._I love you..._

_...mhh, ahhh..Fred, just do me.._

He was burning..

Screams..

He heard agonizing screams..

.._I'll give it hard to you.._

_..AAAAAARGHH AARRRGHH! AAAAARGH.._

White..

That was a familiar color..

A series of resplendent white light rapidly flitted before him..

He could suddenly feel a body..

He had a body..

He had form..

He gasped.

Cool air passed through his throat and filled his lungs.

His eyes flew open..

He was staring at brilliant white radiance and nothing else. It surrounded him everywhere. He felt that familiar strong, crawling, tingling magic around him..

The white light was dimming, and he could see ahead as though seeing through thick white fog..

George.

..._I love you, George Fabian Weasley..Will you marry me?..._

His true love..it all came rushing..

He was sitting over him. His face was contorted in excruciating agony. He was screaming hard.

Fred wanted to scream out his love's name..he wanted to scream out in horror at the sight before him..

But no sound escaped his mouth.

He could only lie stock-still, and stare..

He could see bright white strands between them..and his love's arm passing in and out of the thick beams..

Ripping, tearing, cutting his beautiful arm into pieces..which were falling down in raw, black chunks of flesh...

Black blood freely flowing out of what remained of his mutilated arm..raining down on Fred like a black torrent..

And then, the lightening-like, strong white rays turned sickening blood red..

George's face was twisting..he was _screeching_..screeching stridently in an ear-splitting, frightening voice..

Fred thought his love's throat might rupture if he screamed that hard..

Fred wanted to cry hard at the agony his love was going through before his eyes..

But he couldn't. He could only lie still...and stare...and let happen whatever was happening to the love of his life.

Please oh please let this end..

Please..

Oh when will this distressing, painful torture end?

Then, as though a wicked, cruel god finally heard his begging pleas...it ended.

As the blood red rays faded away, George went through vigorous convulsions, as if he was simply going through an intense orgasm, and then fell down over him hard; his eyes rolling back, his face vacant, his body limp...

And Fred was rapidly slipping into blackness again, plummeting into that dark hole with his true love.

...

A warm, soft hand was gently caressing his cheek. Then it became a finger, which was slowly trailing along his jawline. A nail was then softly grazing along his lips, tracing the curves. It advanced to the tip of his nose, then over the bridge, then an eyelid...bit by bit...tenderly...

"Georgie..."

He heard a gasp, then a voice trembling with joy...

"Freddie! My love! Oh my love!," his voice was quivering with joyful sobs, "Ohh m-my love! Can y-you h-hear me, my s-sweet! Can y-you – "

Fred opened his eyes slowly, and met the thrilled, intense gaze of a pair of pale blue eyes..inches away from his own..

"Yes.." he croaked feebly, his voice barely audible to himself...

His eyes were dancing with a mad, wild ecstasy, "Ohh! Ohh! Freddie!" before he knew it, his lips were on his, kissing him madly..his teeth biting hard, his lips sliding fast...

His lips left just as quick, leaving behind a pleasant, tingling wetness...

The next thing he felt was the rim of a vial pressing against his lips. He parted his lips without another thought, and a hot liquid was poured into his mouth, which he gulped down quickly. Immediately, his body felt energized.

He was disoriented. He couldn't remember the time, place, or situation...

He wasn't able to remember anything except George...

George was looking at him with wild excitement and keenness as he asked in a trembling voice, "How're you feeling, love?"

Fred creased his brows in slight confusion, "Where are we?"

"St. Mungo's..tell me how you're feeling, sweet.." he was leaning toward him, his face close to his, his eyes fixed in rapt attention on him.

"St. Mungo's! But..why..?"

He looked around, and saw a tiny room, with an unoccupied single bed to their left, a light green, crisp and fresh bedspread smoothed out and tucked neatly under the mattress, curtains of the same color hanging ajar between the two beds, a bedside cabinet to his right, beside George, and a small window to their front, obscured with similar-colored curtains..

Looking at the darkness about the curtains obscuring the window, a bluish glow from a lone lamp toward their left the only source of light...Fred could tell it was night.

He was vaguely reminded of a similar situation (waking up in the dead of the night on sickbed, with George by his side) which happened to him ages ago, it seemed to him...though his fuzzy brain couldn't recollect what it was...

"Why're we here..?" he looked back at George, who was breathing fast into his face with anxiety and thrill..

"You..g-got hurt, my love.." he whispered, fear and love in his eyes..

"How?" he asked simply.

"In the Triwizard Tournament, baby.." George gripped his hand which was lying limply beside him.

_Triwizard Tournament.._

Then it all came rushing..

A short, robed, hooded man...a wand swishing...a flash of green light..a silvery-white shield rupturing..

Then, his brain connected it to the preceding events..

A man with rough, clawed face..a huge, frightening, electric blue magical eye..

Moody..

The threat..

Then, his brain fast-forwarded the events to -

Torrents of black blood and chunks of black flesh..

His blissfully relaxed mind was plunged into the all too familiar turmoil once again.

He looked at George's face with madly dancing eyes.

"Georgie..." his voice was a frightened whisper. His eyes immediately darted to his arms, and –

There was something terribly odd about the right sleeve of his long-sleeved, grey shirt. It was hanging loosely..

Fred was paralyzed with horror...

"GEORGIE! YOUR ARM! _YOUR ARM!"_

George's eyes widened with concern and panic, "Baby, don't scream! Stop! Don't get up, sweet!" he was pushing down Fred with his left hand, while his right sleeve..

Hung loosely...

With nothing inside it...

Fred was crying inconsolably...

"Freddie.." his baby leaned in and closed his sweet mouth over his, then breathed, "You shouldn't exert even the slightest of strain on yourself...relax..."

"B-b-but l-love y-your arm..ahh..y-your..w-w..hhn.." Fred was sobbing wretchedly, tears rolling down and lips trembling...

"Freddie.." George whispered softly against his quivering lips, "Relax..." he said in a hushed breath, breathing slowly against his lips, trying to calm him down...

But Fred couldn't..he bloody couldn't..not when his love's arm –

He couldn't even think..

George pulled away, and said softly, "You should eat something immediately..have some water first.."

"No! No! I don't want anything! I want to know wh –"

"Freddie! No!" George pushed him down gently with his left hand, and pushed his body against Fred's, pressing him firmly to the bed. "Please, darling..please listen to what I'm saying for now..please.." he begged of him piteously, pressing his lips lightly against Fred's ear.

Fred was crying hard, his body jerking, tears seeping through the corners of his eyes and soaking the sides of his ears and the pillow as George took the pains to position a glass and pour water into it from a flask with a single hand..

With his left hand..

"Ohh G-Georgie..ohh my l-love..."

George's eyes swam with tears as he turned and pressed the glass against his trembling lips, "Please..Freddie.." he pressed it a bit harder, forcing him to drink.

Fred grabbed the glass with his own hand as he emptied the glass in just three gulps, then reached out to keep it on the bedside cabinet by himself. George took the glass from his grip and placed it on the cabinet.

"Georgie..G-Georgie.." he was continuously trying to get up, crying..and George was making him lie down persistently...until he complied, moaning wretchedly..

"It's alright, love..It was just an arm..I'm more concerned about you, not my ruddy arm.."

"No..n-no..no..no.." Fred whimpered on and on, stupidly shaking his head, blinking furiously..

"It's fine, really..it saved you, darling..I don't care at all that I lost an arm – "

"NO! No..n-no..no..n-n-no.."

"Stop c-crying like this, baby...you're making m-me feel s-so sad.." George caressed his hair softly with his hand, "I c-cant stand to see you c-crying like this.."

"George..George.." he looked at him, his eyes feral, "Come here..come closer..come.."

He grabbed George's head and kissed him madly for a long moment...lashing his tongue against his, gnawing, biting, his hands gripping his head tight...

Fred said as soon as they pulled away, "Sh-show me your arm, show.."

"Its fine, love..its all healed..You should eat something, Freddie, please.."

"No! No..show me y-y –"

But George was pressing a spoon against his lips and trying to force something into his mouth. After a lot more struggling, Fred had to comply, and consume the bland liquid his sweet baby was feeding him with his left hand.

His Georgie was clumsy with his left hand, but Fred allowed him to feed him, allowed him to spill the food down his chin as his hand shook or he slanted the spoon the wrong way, instead of stopping him, because he did not want to pain him..did not want to insult him...

He did not want him to feel any less perfect than he was before...

After his love was done with it, Fred insisted, still sniffling, that he was feeling perfectly alright, and sat upright. He made George sit on his bed beside him, and pulled him closer. Fred's hands made its way to the buttons of his shirt, and he undid them all hurriedly, and slid his shirt off his shoulders...

And burst into grief-stricken tears when he saw a large, blackened, rutted and bumpy stump at the ending of his right shoulder instead of a long, pale, beautiful arm with sinewy muscles and smooth skin..

His poor baby looked strangely disfigured as he sat there, shirtless, an entire arm missing..

It was akin to seeing a majestic lion without his mane...

But his Georgie was his..no matter what..

He'll love him in any condition..

He loved every inch of his body..

If it was anyone else, they'd have been revolted by the sight of that large, blackened, rough stub of an arm at the end of his shoulder.

But not Fred...never..

If this blackened stump was a part of his beautiful body from now onward...he'd love it as much as he loved his baby..

He reached a hand and softly felt it, and met his beautiful lover's eyes, "Does it h-hurt, my love?"

George was smiling through glistening, kind eyes, "No, love, not at all..its completely healed.."

Fred let his palm slowly rake over the stump, his heart twisting with unbearable pain as he felt the jaggedness beneath his palm...

Tears flowed down his cheeks as he leaned in and kissed it tenderly..

He heard George sniff with a pained sob as he wrapped his other arm around Fred, and pulled him close to his chest. Fred rested his head against the crook of his neck, and snuggled into his warm chest, holding him tight around his waist.

"Why c-cant they regrow an arm, my sweet..w-why cant they?" Fred sobbed, stroking his lover's smooth, bare back slowly..

"T'was removed by magic, Freddie..if it was simply chopped off manually, then it was, of course, possible to regrow it..but not in this case..But I'm not sad that I lost an arm, darling..not at all. In fact, I'm so glad..so glad that it was of help..that I was-" his voice broke as his body shook, "-able t-to s-sa-ve your l-lif-e.." he wept.

George then squeezed him hard with his left arm, holding him dearly close to his chest..

Fred didn't know when or how he drifted off into a dreamless sleep in between his despairing sobs against his love's chest.

...

He was woken up the next morning by the sound of collective murmurings and soft chatter.

He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was his mum's worried sick face, hovering right above him.

"Oh Freddie! Oh my darling!" she started crying and laughing at the same time, her pale blue eyes which so resembled George's glowing with happiness as she swooped down and planted a hard kiss on his forehead.

"Mum.."

"Oh darling, George told me that you woke up last night..and- and that you talked to him! And- and..ohh sweet Merlin..my poor babies.." she bent and kissed his cheek.

Fred looked around, and found that the tiny room was chock-a-block with people..

Everyone's eyes were trained on him as though he were some rare specie of magical creature..

His entire family was there..

Dad, Bill, Charlie, Percy, George, Ron, Ginny (all appearing exceptionally overjoyed and tense..with wide eyes and red noses..even Percy, Fred was shocked to find. And one among them, a certain handsome someone, whose beauty was not dimmed in the slightest by the right sleeve of his shirt hanging loosely, was smiling devotedly at him)

And..

Lee, Harry, Hermione, Angelina..

And..

Dumbledore.

Dumbledore towered above them all, and was looking at Fred with a knowing twinkle in his eyes, and a kind smile.

Looking at their pleasant faces, Fred was positive that Moody was true to his words, and hadn't revealed anything about their relationship.

Ron opened his mouth first after the little silence that had ensued, "You..do remember us all, don't you?" he asked in a low, tentative voice..worry evident on his white face.

"Git, even if I die a thousand times and come alive again I won't forget the fact that you are a gormless, perpetually gawking, overeating prat who annoys people with infuriatingly stupid questions"

"Excellent! His brain's in fine condition," Bill said, a small smile playing on his lips.

"I don't think Ron was being stupid," Charlie said, raising a hand a bit as though vouching for Ron, "Genius people often tend to be slightly eccentric," he was staring meaningfully at Dumbledore's back, "and that was Ron's often misunderstood brilliance..he was simply making sure if Fred was mentally stable or not..were you not, Ron?"

Ron was quite fascinated by a magazine that lay on the bedside cabinet.

"D'you know how long you slept this time, bozo?" Lee said. Fred was shocked to find a trace of wetness in his chocolate brown eyes, "One and a half month!"

"One and a-" Fred's eyes turned wide as saucers as they darted to George for confirmation of this mindboggling fact, who silently answered his question with a small nod and a soft smile.

"I- I think it'll be best if we leave..Fred needs his rest," his dad looked at him, relief and happiness in his kind brown eyes, "besides, the nurse will surely hex us all straight to our homes if we all stay here any longer.." His eyes darted toward a patiently silent Dumbledore before fixing on Fred once again, "Fred, Dumbledore wishes to discuss something about what exactly happened that night of the task w-when, you know, i-it h-happened..So..we'll leave you and George with him to discuss it peacefully.." his dad then turned to Dumbledore, who was smiling pleasantly at him.

"Thank you, Arthur," Dumbledore said, nodding his head slightly in appreciation.

"Ah, no problem, Albus.." his dad smiled, "C'mon then, everyone..out..out.."

His mum gave a final loving look and a small kiss on his cheek before saying, "I'll get breakfast for you after Dumbledore will be finished with his talk with you,"

Dumbledore heard what his mum said, and said kindly, "No no..it'll be perfectly all right if you bring in his breakfast while we're in our conversation. Nothing should be a hold-up for the frequent serving of food Fredrick has to be given from now on for at least a few weeks.."

"Alright, then, I'll be back in a jiffy with breakfast for you two..Albus, should I get som-"

"Oh no no..no, thank you..I've had more than enough moments before I flooed here.." he smiled at their mum.

His mum got up, and left with the rest of the crowd, who were all slowly shuffling out of the room, shooting final wide-eyed, caring glances at Fred.

Dumbledore turned his gaze to Fred, and smiled warmly at him, before looking at George, and saying, "Please have a seat, George," he slightly shifted the wooden chair beside him with a hand.

George walked over, and plopped down on the chair beside the bedside cabinet where he had been sitting last night.

"So," he looked at Fred, "Firstly, Fredrick, how are you feeling? Are you comfortable with having a chat now, or should I visit you in a more convenient time..whenever you feel a little more recuperated? It is not at all a difficulty to postpone this conversation to another time if you want me to,"

"No..no, its alright.." Fred said honestly, sitting up and leaning back against the headboard. He wanted to know what happened to his poor baby's arm right now. His gaze fell over George as he thought this, who was sitting on the chair, his face quite tranquil, as he looked at Fred with a calm little smile.

Dumbledore began, "Very well, then, I will begin with informing you about the result of the Triwizard Tournament. You and Harry were declared as winners, tied in the first place, and were supposed to be sharing the prize money. But Harry strongly insists that he doesn't need the galleons, and wants to give away his prize to you, seeing that you are admitted in the hospital and wanting to help you with the expenditures, and also to help you in his own little way for developing the splendid, I must mention here that George had been kind enough to show me a few, brilliant inventions of the two of you," his eyes twinkled with amusement and admiration.

Merlin, he'd have to thank that boy..Fred thought with a pleasantly surprised smile as he looked at George (whose expression told him that he already knew this fact).

"And also, I want you to know, Fredrick, that in the past one and a half month, George had constantly been by your side, with the exception of a few days when he had to be in complete bed rest for the healing of his arm. Your mother had, of course, tried hard to take him to the Burrow and make him rest a bit..but he was 'extraordinarily stubborn' in your mother's words," Dumbledore smiled warmly at them both.

Fred's eyes automatically grew moist as they darted to George, and now that he observed his face closely in the daylight, he saw with a pang that his poor love had prominent dark-circles under his eyes, and that his thin body looked frailer than it ever had been.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, and their mum entered with a tray of breakfast for them both.

"Eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, orange juice and milk, my dears.." she smiled warmly as she bustled in and set the tray on the bedside cabinet, "I'll be off, then.." she quickly left them, shutting the door softly behind her.

"Please help yourselves, Fredrick, George..it is perfectly fine with me," he insisted.

George passed a plate to Fred, who gingerly set it on his lap and dug in. He felt exceptionally hungry, he realized.

Dumbledore continued, "Now, let's get into the crux of the matter, Fredrick. George here already knows all the facts. We had been waiting for you to come out of your state of coma.."

Fred listened with rapt attention as he shoveled in scrambled eggs.

"You were kept on fluids-only diet for the past one and a half month, injected intravenously directly into your blood at regular intervals. Now, what actually happened at the final task:

"George told me all about the consequences Moody had threatened you two with should you fail to execute a certain mission he had set you to do in the last task.."

Fred choked on his food and spilled the eggs down his front as he looked at George with watering eyes..

_What?!_

But George was simply smiling calmly, just like Dumbledore, who said, "Do not panic, Fredrick. I know perfectly well that you and your twin are in a relationship,"

Fred stared white-faced at Dumbledore, unable to believe his ears...

Unable to process the fact that it was Dumbledore's calm voice he was hearing..speaking openly about their beautiful relationship..

Their Headmaster..

Was he in some crazy dream...?

No..it seemed all too real to be a dream..

Dumbledore continued on, unruffled and pleasant-faced as ever, "And just as Prof. Moody had anticipated, you carried out his commands extremely well...He had accurately recognized your competence, and accurately judged that threatening you with the exposure of your relationship will make you bend to his wishes without the risk of him getting revealed as the blackmailer,. But what was the motivation behind Prof. Moody's actions?"

Fred was still trying to wrap his brain around the fact that Dumbledore...Merlin, Dumbledore, seemed not to mind his relationship with his twin..

It seemed too good to be true..

He lost thread of what Dumbledore was saying as he tuned in –

"Now do not choke on your food again, Fredrick, when you hear this," Dumbledore warned him before saying, "It wasn't Prof. Moody who threatened you...In fact, you haven't yet met the real Prof. Moody...it was Bartemius Crouch Jr., the son the deceased Minister Bartemius Crouch Sr., who was disguised as Alastor all along..drinking polyjuice potion at an interval of every hour.."

_What?_

It was hard to digest the fact that they had been taught the whole year by a..._fake_ Moody?

"But from where did he constantly collect Moody's hair?" Fred asked, open-mouthed.

"That, Fredrick, will be explained to you by George..I have already told him all about it in detail..so for now, we leave the topic of how did Bartemius Jr manage to fool the real Alastor and worm his way into Hogwarts, and instead focus on what his motive was behind it..

"Bartemius Jr. was a Death Eater.."

_Death Eater!_

It was getting madder by the minute..

_But...'was a Death Eater'.._

"Hang on," Fred interrupted, "when you say 'was' – "

"I mean that he is now dead, just like the father he had killed.."

Memories of that horrifying evening flitted through his mind – Moody's, no, _Bartemius Jr.'s _manic smile and strangely gleaming eyes as he killed his own father..

And he was a Death Eater...

Fred could care less about him being dead or alive..he can rot in hell for all he cares..

"But why did he – "

"Kill his father? He never had a satisfying father-son relationship with his father." Dumbledore said, "Bartemius Sr. was always absorbed in his work, and paid little attention to his son, while his son used to be very convinced that his father definitely had more love for his wife than his son..

"But that is a long story for another time..let's get back to our main topic. It was Bartemius Jr. who had entered Harry's name for the tournament, so that he could turn him in to Voldemort..to use his blood in an ancient sacrificial magic which could give him a body..and then kill him..

He remembered Harry saying worriedly that evening they got selected as Champions that he felt someone might've entered his name with an evil intention..

"Voldemort was successful with the first plan, but as you yourself saw Harry alive and breathing just moments ago, he obviously failed in the second plan..Harry evaded death in Voldemort's hands for the fourth time.."

Fred was struggling to absorb all this astounding information in one go..

"So that means V-Voldemort's – " Fred couldn't complete his statement out of sheer terror. A wave of nausea crept through him.

"Back.." Dumbledore completed for him, "and with a fully-grown body.."

The bundle of robes he had seen that day in the arms of his nearly-murderer was actually Voldemort...Fred shuddered when he realized how close he had been to the one thing he considered even more fear-provoking than death – Voldemort.

This was the beginning of another terror-filled era, like the one which had ended almost thirteen years ago..

He instinctively looked at George..to find solace in the warmth of his kind blue eyes..

Dumbledore actually smiled as he caught his small action.

And once again Fred's head was reeling as he struggled to process what he was seeing –

Acceptance and kindness in Dumbledore's eyes..

It was insane..

Fred felt surer than ever that maybe Dumbledore _was_ slightly mental after all..

"Now, Fredrick, back to your topic," Dumbledore said, shifting a little in his seat as though readying himself for a long monologue, "I knew the truth about you two the moment I saw Poppy's report, and had summoned you to know if it was consensual or forced. If it was forced, I was thinking of informing your parents, and if it was consensual, I most definitely was going to leave you in peace.." he smiled as Fred gaped slightly, "Now, when I interrogated the two of you, I clearly saw the deep love that you share. I saw the strong mental and emotional bond. I naturally thought that it was cruel to force you apart or punish you even in the slightest way for loving. To love is not a crime..not at all, Fredrick.. Love is what we are lacking in this world. If everyone could share a love like you both do, the world would've been a much better place to live in. And I feel that destroying love in any form is a cardinal sin..

"Now, you may think that I am a complete loony to be advocating incest. But I want you to understand, Fredrick, that our perceptions are what makes us judge things as wrong and right..and perceptions vary from one life form to another..note that I said 'life-form' and not 'human'.. What an animal in the lower hierarchy of nature may think of as an everyday situation may be considered as unspeakable by a human..

"Perceptions are built by what we see, hear and learn since our childhood.. They are deeply ingrained into our system, drilled into us since the formative stages of our mental development, and the moment we see something contradicting what had been drilled into us, we react..we deem it as wrong..

"Now you may ask, 'then why can't, say…murder be considered as a perfectly normal thing to do, if perception is what makes us judge things?' Now here, Fredrick, I want you to understand an important thing:

"Everything must have a _balance_, Fredrick. Nothing can exist without duality. So if there is only anarchy and atrocity, how will existence prevail? Therefore, to every dark force, there must be light, and your relationship is the epitome of that 'light'. Pure love is light, and to oppose it is wrong..absolutely wrong.."

Dumbledore let out a deep sigh, a slightly downcast expression crossing his aged, wise features, as though he was reflecting something personal..perhaps something bitter that had happened in his own life..?

He said after a pensive silence, "Alas..I most definitely do not expect others to think of it like this, Fredrick..and I do not blame them, not in the slightest..

Dumbledore then turned to George, and said in a gentle voice, "Please, George, if you'd explain to him what led you to do the ancient magic which left the protective charm on him..."

_Protective charm..._

His love met his eyes, and said, "I..I dreamt of you that night, Fred..the same thing as usual...of you d-dying.." George took a short breath, then continued, "I wasn't able to sleep a wink after that. So I got up and sat looking at you for a long time..dreading the task next day..thinking about your safety..cause, I dunno..I had this- this strange hunch, you know... I somehow connected it with Moody.. I felt that he was going to cause a lot more damage than just revealing our secret.. maybe 'cause your account of him callously murdering Crouch left a disturbing impression in my mind...I wished so much if I could do something for your safety... if I could help you in any little way.. That was when I saw two books, a huge, tattered one, and a smaller one, appearing on the nightstand...

"The larger book was about my magical condition, while the other was about twin-cored wands..

"I was intrigued..I thought why did the room give me books on such topics when I hadn't thought about anything even remotely relating to it..?

"But I read on, curious about what was written in it.. curious to know why the room had given me those books.. And then, I understood why... That was the room's answering of my wish of wanting to help you in my own little way.. about wanting to ensure your safety..

"There was a lot written about levensviata in the huge book, on how to produce the magic, which, apparently, nobody knows about currently – it predominantly requires phoenix blood and tears, which can be understood by what Madam Pomfrey had said about its core-essence being Phoenix, and a lot of ancient and unknown potions and spells.. Its origin, about which Madam Pomfrey was right – the Blacks of the second and the later few centuries.. Its purposes, about which we already know – healing of everything except death, prevention of abnormalities in a child conceived out of incest between immediate relation..

_"_In the topic on conjuring levensviata, like I said, a lot of ancient spells no one uses these days were mentioned.. and one among them was weis vivrenheil, which is the spell used to activate the healing properties of phoenix blood and tears in a human..that was the spell I used on you that day, Fred..

"Now, I know you're thinking that there are a lot of loose ends to be tied here, Fred, lot of things that aren't making sense...and I'm coming right to it..

"I read the other book, the one about twin-cored wands..and again, there was a lot written in it, about the relation between such wands, why certain people are chosen by twin-cored wands, which in itself is a very rare thing to happen, and the like..

"Like we read that day in a book, Fred, twin-cored wands don't work properly against each other when forced to harm the owners.. resulting into connection of spells and repelling of it inside the golden ball that is created at the centre, prori incantatem, and all that...but I read in this book that the opposite happens when forced to help the owners.. the wands get connected, and work so well that they combine their strengths, and work as a single, double-strengthed wand, and in the process, connect the owners too, and a portal is created between them, through which there can be a free exchange of magic between the two owners.. and the effectiveness of the connection increases with the love and willingness of the owner wishing to help the other..

"So I had two key information with me.. the spell used to activate the properties of phoenix blood, and the fact that twin-cored wands get connected and work as a single, powerful wand when forced to help the owner..

"I of course did not have phoenix blood with me to help you, Fred.. so I devised my own method for it.. I thought that since my blood has those properties, I could use it.. and so there you have it.. I did not have the faintest clue on what I was about to do would work or not, since I don't think anyone might've done it before.. but, well.. I did it.. and I guess it worked, though a bit poorly.."

"No, George, I think it was an exceptionally efficient charm that you had done, and that is the reason why Fredrick is still sitting here," Dumbledore said earnestly, his eyes glowing with admiration for George, "Your incomparable presence of mind, intelligence and absolute love and willingness, which made the connection between your wands extremely effective, was what saved Fredrick from getting completely affected by the killing curse...that, in addition to the remarkably powerful shield Fredrick had conjured straight off, according to Harry.."

Dumbledore turned to Fred, his wise eyes somber, "But I want you to understand, Fredrick, that shield alone, no matter how powerful, cannot save you from getting killed by the killing curse.. It can slow it down, or split it up in case of extremely strong shields, as what had happened in your case, Fredrick, but can never prevent death, because the killing curse is the most potent and the most unforgivable among the three unforgivables..

"What saved you was the powerful protective charm George had left on you.. but even that was nothing compared to the strength of the killing curse. But instead of killing you, it fragmented your soul, Fredrick.."

_Fragmented my soul..._ Fred had never heard of anything like that happening to anyone.

"There are no written documentation of anything like that happening to anyone," Dumbledore confirmed his thoughts, "though there is a theory which states that the person goes into an in-between state if such a thing happens..neither in the earthly world nor liberated out of it.. d'you remember being in such a state, Fredrick?"

"No," Fred said truthfully, "All I remember is blacking out in that graveyard where Harry and I'd been transported by the cup, which was actually a portkey.." then he remembered the horrifying, disturbing memory of George's beautiful arm getting severed, of him screaming out hard, and torrents of black blood, and chunks of black flesh..

Tears filled his eyes as he said in a broken voice, his gaze momentarily falling on the right sleeve of George's shirt hanging flaccidly, "But I remember George's arm getting c-cut up brutally..I remember nothing after it, though.."

Dumbledore's eyes were filled with sympathy and kindness as he said, "Ah, yes..you had momentarily opened your eyes during the sacrificial magic.. Sacrifice of an arm by George was what actually saved you from staying in an in-between state forever, Fredrick.."

Fred didn't know why, but he was crying uncontrollably now, overwhelmed with a flurry of emotions. He looked at the love of his life, sitting right by his side, those kind blue eyes of his trained on Fred..

He had always been there by his side..

Through thick and thin..every second..right from the start...

He didn't think about Dumbledore sitting right in front of them as he wept shamelessly, "G-Georgie...c'mere..c-c-come.." his vision was blurred with freely flowing tears.

George's nose turned that cute pink shade as he gave a small, loving smile, and leaned in. Fred grabbed his face and kissed his lips hard...repeatedly...while shakily whispering again and again, "I l-l-love y-you..I l-love you..."

"I love you too, cookie.." he breathed.

That made Fred chuckle through his sobs.

He would've never believed that a man could go through so many emotions at the same time if it wouldn't have happened to himself.

Fred then felt embarrassed after they pulled away and saw Dumbledore gazing at the ceiling, humming merrily.

"Er..I'm really sorry..." he mumbled, cheeks heating up.

Dumbledore looked at him, "Oh, no no..dont be..containment of emotions is never healthy," he said agreeably, "Now, getting back to our topic - That night, Harry gave Voldemort the slip by his outstanding display of bravery and level-headedness, and transported himself and you back to Hogwarts by grabbing the portkey-cup, and the two of you appeared outside the maze right in the middle of the grounds surrounded by the stands..

"Harry related what had happened, and everyone, including your shattered twin, 'shattered' is an out-and-out understatement and an insult to your twin's emotions, thought that you were dead..

"But I immediately sensed a magical aura around you, the aura which every individual with magic in their blood possess. Aura is never present around a dead witch or wizard. I must mention here that detecting aura isn't easy, and, please forgive me if I'm sounding boastful, only the most accomplished aurors can detect it.

"Aura is usually felt rather like faint currents of energy, the intensity of which differs minutely from person to person, accompanied with the unique scent of the owner..and I confirmed whether your signature scent was rather like musk by using legilimency on a distraught George mourning your supposed death, and found that it indeed was. That made me confident that you were very much alive, though you weren't breathing..and I knew I had to act fast before you'd die not because of the escaping of your soul, (as what happens in case of being hit by the killing curse. It leaves no damage to your body, or health, except for the fact that you are dead, as you must be knowing) but because of lack of oxygen in your blood since your body wasn't functioning..

"So basically, what happened was, though you had your soul in a fragmented state in you which prevented you from dying instantly, you were going to die anyway because of the inactivity of your body -you must understand that what happened to you was the most curious, uncommon thing to have ever happened- It was like you were dead, but not quite…

"Now, Fredrick, when you were in my office that evening, denying your relationship with your twin very artfully, I must say, I had been using legilimency on you all along, reading your every thought and seeing your, please forgive me, most private memories –I had no choice but to see them since they were in the forefront of your mind at that moment- And among the jumble of thoughts, I came across a thought about you and your twin possessing twin-cored wands..

"So I had the knowledge about your wands being brothers, and also the knowledge that George has the rare magic of levensviata in him, which heals everything except death, and I also knew that sacrificial magic is the most powerful of healing magic (which was done by a man called Peter for giving Voldemort a body that night), and that sacrificial magic's efficiency increases with love and willingness, just like creation of connection between brother wands..

"So, I knew what exactly had to be done, and immediately told George to sacrifice his wand-hand through a brother wand binding spell I had told him (I of course had no idea at that moment that he had done a similar, yet entirely different, spell on you earlier that evening).. Wand-hand, because I knew it will increase the intensity of the magic; you need a very strong magic to heal your soul, Fredrick, unlike the healing of bodily injuries..

"In spite of the ensuring of a high-intensity magic, your soul was not healed until George had severed his arm bit by bit right up to his shoulder… I thought that simply sacrificing his hand might suffice.. but apparently that was not enough, and he had to sacrifice an entire arm."

Dumbledore stopped his long monologue, and there was a ringing silence in which Fred turned his tear-filled, wide eyes to George, his head reeling with such astounding information..

He could see it all happening in his mind's eye..

And he _had_ seen a part of it happening when he had finally opened his eyes that night and saw his Georgie's arm getting completely severed…him convulsing…falling over him…expressionless…probably passing out with pain…

Fred started weeping bitterly again…

"Freddie, love," George murmured tenderly. He got up from his chair, and sat beside Fred on the bed. Fred wriggled closer, draped his arms around George, the food on his lap long forgotten, and snuggled into his chest, soaking his cream cotton shirt with his tears.

"G-G-Georgie..I'm s-such a p-pain in the a-arse, a-aren't I?" he moaned, clutching fist-fuls of his shirt, "I'm s-sorry..I'm sorry..I-I'm .."

"Nah..how dare you say like that, love?" he murmured against his hair, gently rubbing and patting his back with his single hand.

Fred forced himself to calm down, concentrating on the steady, strong beating of George's heart beneath his rising and falling chest...his breathing...his sweet scent...his caresses...

"Fredrick..." Dumbledore called compassionately, "I know that hearing all this might be painful..but you need to understand.. Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery.."

Fred straightened, an arm still draped loosely around George's waist, taking in Dumbledore's words as he toughened himself up and tried accepting everything that had happened.

"So now you know how you were saved, Fredrick. Now, back to the topic of Bartemius Jr. disguised as Moody.

"While I had been busy with you and George, Bartemius had pulled Harry away from the scene, and took him inside the castle, where he revealed his real identity to Harry. I noticed as soon as the spectacular display of magic between you and George ended, that Harry wasn't present there, and so was Alastor. I asked around and found that he had taken away Harry with him, and immediately felt that something was amiss with Alastor's behaviour. The real Alastor would never have taken away Harry with him when he was clearly in need of medical attention after his exhausting and traumatising fight with Voldemort and his shock at your seeming death...

"So I went up, accompanied by Prof. Snape and Prof. McGonagall, and found him in his office, almost about to kill Harry.. we prevented the misfortune, gave him Veritaserum, and made him say the complete truth in the presence of just Harry and me. I will skip the rest of the details and focus only on what he had said about you and George:

"He had had a slight doubt on the two of you right since his first class with you. He said that the wenstelio curse revealed George's desire as 'holding his own twin and whispering his love for him' in Bartemius' words, which he found very perplexing and unusual.

"Now, few days after the first task, he was on his usual night-rounds when he spotted George under disillusionment charm, tip-toeing toward the hospital wing. He kept his eyes on George, curious, and saw him entering the wing. Then, he saw right through the wall with the help of his magical eye, and saw him moving toward you, Fredrick, and then 'engaged in strange, unacceptable things' with you, 'sitting in a compromising position with his own twin'..

"Now, he kept you under surveillance, since he knew you are close to Harry, and planned on using you for his purposes..but if only he could've been surer about the unwonted attachment between the two of you..and a proof showing it is true, so that he could use it against you..

"It was then that he planned out what was a brilliant, foolproof plan.. He guessed that if there was any truth in what he suspected, then he could discern some noticeable reaction from either one of you if the other might show infidelity..

"In the evening of Christmas Day, when most of the teachers were busy getting ready for the Yule ball, Bartemius selected a random student, put him under the imperius curse, made him steal dazing potion from Prof. Snape's office, the keys to which the student was given by Bartemius himself (he avoided stealing by himself to escape getting detected in case of source-testing, which did happen just as he had anticipated – you both requested Madam Pomfrey to do exactly that right on the next day).. the student, under the imperius curse, expertly slipped it into a drink George had, made him walk up to a dungeon, stole George's hair, and consumed the polyjuice potion (supplied by Bartemius), thereby polyjuicing himself to George..and the rest, I suppose, you must be knowing?" Dumbledore looked at him questioningly.

Fred nodded, agape.

"And you of course know who the student was," Dumbledore said.

"MacMillan.." Fred whispered.

"Right," Dumbledore nodded once, "and he is, as evident now, absolutely guiltless.. It was Bartemius' scheming moves all along... Meanwhile, Bartemius polyjuiced himself to MacMillan in order to avoid getting detected skulking around suspiciously (which explains why he excused himself after just one dance with Prof. Sprout, blaming it on his aching leg). He kept watch on you, Fredrick, saw your reaction, noted where you went off, and later told a panicky George your exact location.. he then secretly followed George, climbed the spiralling stairs to the top of the Astronomy Tower with ease since he was polyjuiced as MacMillan, hid behind a wall, armed with a camera, ready to take your pictures this time, anticipating the sure-fire display of fight and tears and affection that was to follow..

"But, all for naught... As you can see, his secrecy and careful planning led him nowhere.. he let slip his real identity that night by not taking the usual care to mimic Moody's normal behaviour, and also forgot to take the draught of polyjuice potion before the previous draught's effect waned, and his real appearance was revealed to us while he was under interrogation..

"He was later killed by the Dementor's kiss under Cornelius' order that very night, though that was a misfortune, and was carried out before I could intervene.. We needed him to prove the fact about Voldemort to the Ministry as well as the public, and the present situation of public denial of the harsh truth, encouraged quite zealously by the Ministry, would never have arisen.."

Fred did not realize his mouth was slightly open and that he was holding his breath as he stared for a few seconds at Dumbledore, his arm still loosely draped around George's waist and the food on his lap cold and half-eaten.

Dumbledore smiled as his gaze fell down to their plates, and gave a light flick to his wand, "It seems my prolix speech made you forget your breakfast.. eat up before it goes cold again.."

Dumbledore rose up, and made to leave. His wise blue eyes behind those half-moon spectacles fixed on them kindly and somberly, "Before I leave, I might as well say something which I would like you two to remember for the rest of your lives – Love is the most powerful force in this universe, and nothing has ever conquered this force, and never will.." he smiled as Fred and George looked at him, at loss for words for the deep level of understanding he had shown toward them, "And oh," Dumbledore suddenly fumbled in his robes, and retrieved a small piece of parchment, which he handed to George, "It is a letter of grievance written by Mr. Ernie MacMillan to me.. Please read it.."

George opened the neatly folded parchment, and held it between them. Fred stuck his head with George's to read:

_Respected Headmaster Dumbledore,_

_I, Ernest Vincent MacMillan, fourth year Hufflepuff student and gobstone captain, was wrongly accused of using polyjuice potion and disguising myself as George Weasley of sixth year, Gryffindor student and beater for the Quidditch team, in the night of Yule Ball, and misrepresenting him in front of his date for the evening, Alicia Spinnet._

_I was given detention every week until the end of the term as 'punishment', and had to serve every detention. Let me explain you the reason why I wasnt able to defend myself and avoid serving the unjustified punishment handed to me._

_I was approached by three girls, probably of second or third year, I am not sure since they did not reveal their identities to me, though I could identify them by their appearance if given a chance; under the pretext of entering their names for gobstone, and was given a toffee as an 'expression of gratitude' by one of the girls, which was actually hexed strongly with a stinging-hex. My lips had swelled twenty times its normal size, and my larynx was affected, which made me mute for three months. Not only that, the girls hexed both of my hands with a combined hex, which made my hands swell and develop spikes, which left me incapable of expressing anything by writing._

_It was during such an inopportune moment that I was accused of something I had no hand in, and had to take the rap for something I've never done. I am ready for a Veritaserum-test if you want to confirm the truth._

_I want George Weasley to be informed of the truth, and want the girls to be punished for the uncalled-for attack on me._

_I hope you, sir, will consider my plea for justice, and take an appropriate action._

- _Ernest Vincent MacMillan._

Fred was sweating slightly after they finished reading the letter, and met the slightly perturbed, identical gaze of his love.

Dumbledore, however, chuckled lightly, "Now, it is understood without mentioning that I of course know who the girls are, but do not worry..I won't be punishing you severely, because obviously, you were not aware back then about MacMillan's innocence..however," his blue eyes twinkled, "I will let you off in one condition.."

Fred and George waited with bated breath to hear Dumbledore's condition –

"I want one of those decoy detonators of yours for free," he said.

Fred let out a breath he had been holding, and grinned unpretentiously, "Of course, sir, why only one – "

"You can make it a hundred, and we'd still be happy to give it all to you for free," George completed for him, the same warm smile on his face.

"Oh no..thank you for the offer though..I don't think a hundred of those will fit into my glass cabinet," Dumbledore smiled, "I shall take my leave, then. Please feel free to inform me of any difficulty or need you might come across," so saying, he turned to leave.

Fred suddenly remembered something.

"Er, sir?" he called.

"Yes," Dumbledore turned to look at him with polite interest.

"Er, do the rest of my family know about, er, George and me?" he asked sheepishly.

"No," Dumbledore replied reassuringly, "and never will, since neither Harry nor I will inform them about you, you can be sure of that.. The day they will know it will be the day you yourselves decide to let them know," he smiled kindly.

...

"No Georgie..I wont..I don't want to..not when you w-wont be able t-to.."

They were in their bedroom at the Burrow. Outside, a full moon was beaming high up in the dark midnight-black sky, a few silvery-grey clouds drifting around it.

Fred had his head resting against the comforting warmth of George's chest, his arms wrapped securely around his waist.

"Freddie..darling..." George breathed against his hair, stroking his back slowly with his beautiful left hand, "Quidditch's your passion..I don't want you to leave it just to stay with me and make me feel good.."

"Ha! So it would make you feel good if I actually do it, wouldn't it?" Fred latched on his love's inattentive words as a desperate resort to make him agree.

"That wasnt what I meant, cookie.."

"That was what you exactly meant..you accidently spoke your mind..I don't want to be in a team where you wont be there...I've always played Quidditch with you..it won't ever be the same thing for me without you..I wont be able to give my best w-without y-you, my love.." he insisted stubbornly, tears threatening to blur his eyes.

"Atleast try the first few matches, ," George persisted calmly, "If you aren't feeling good about it even after a few matches, then consider doing what you feel's the best, love..."

It was hard to convince George once he became as stubborn as a mule, Fred thought lovingly as he kissed his chest.

"Georgie..."

"Mmm?"

"I..I wanna feel you..." he needed him, right now...he wanted to show his love for him, wanted to assure him that he's still alive..that his heart was beating, true and strong, for him..

That he was alive because of him..

He was alive for him..

"I love you so much, Georgie..."

"I love you twice as much, baby.."

He would love him slowly, gently, tenderly..

He was his sweet angel...

Whatever happened since the past two months seemed unreal...dreamlike...

"Ahh..l-love...th-this is real...isnt i-it..?"

"Y-yes..Freddie..th-this's r-real...y-you're real..."

His Georgie was the only real thing right now...

His taste, his scent, his breaths, his gasps..

"Ahh..aaah..s-say m-my name s-so I could b-believe y-you're real..."

"George! G-George..aaahh..hn..G-George..."

In and out...faster and faster...

Breaths mingling...screams merging...

And as he got blind with love, he didn't give a damn if it was real or not..

Whatever it was, he had George with him, and that was all that mattered.

He emptied himself inside him...

George clung onto him, screaming out his name..

And that was all it took for Fred to become conscious that he himself was real..

Made real by a person with a heart as beautiful as his body – George.

* * *

**Wow..this story begins with the word 'Fred' and ends with 'George'! **

**The story doesn't end here, guys! :D**

**There'll be a sequel, titled 'You and Me'.**

**WARNING: It'll be Mpreg..if you aren't comfortable with it, please do not read it! :D**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


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